Assassins and Witchcraft
by Bramblewish
Summary: In a story borrowing the world of Frozen rather than the characters, a witch by the name of Alice finds herself thrown into a prison cell with Jack Sentan the most famous assassin the empire. With nothing to lose, Alice and Jack set out to learn the nature of magic, and to get revenge on the man that stole Alice's life from her.
1. Chapter 1

Introduction- This story is different from most fanfictions that I have created and read. Instead of following the characters created by the original piece, I will be following the world. Frozen posed a few interesting questions about magic in their world. Where does magic come from? Can anyone be born with it? How does the general population feel about the people who wield it? All of these questions I hope to answer with the following story.

(Alice's POV)

My head throbbed violently and bile rose in my throat, as two uniformed men dragged me through the streets of whatever god-forsaken town I had the misfortune of stumbling into. Slipping in and out of consciousness, the world spinned around me and nothing made sense. Pedestrians came by to gawk and cheer at whatever was happening at the moment.

"Why were they cheering?" I thought to myself. I tried to lift my head to see what was so interesting, but a stone hit me in the forehead and I slipped back into the comfortable silence of dreams.

I opened my eyes again and the world came into a blurred focus. We were in some kind of dungeon with walls the same dull gray of the floor and ceiling. A tall bearded man barked orders at whoever was carrying me. He wore a strange tunic with a dragon standing on top of a sword.

"That's ridiculous, dragons don't exist." I slurred with a slight laugh, and a fist hit me in the face. Darkness surrounded me, and I lost all focus.

My eyes snapped open and the world melted into absolute clarity. Dark stone walls and a barred gate surrounded me, illuminated only by distant torchlight. I took stock of my body. Aside from a dull ringing in my head, and a few cuts on my shoulder I was fine. The black tunic and dark grey pants I usually wore were gone, replaced by some itchy material that I would never willingly don in a lifetime. I imagined some nasty guard wrestling my unconscious form out of my clothes and into these, and very nearly threw up.

"Okay, somebody's going to die." I said aloud, my voice thick with sleep.

"Yeah, you. That's how an execution works." A voice on the other side of the cell said. I glanced over to see a teenage boy emerge from the shadows. He stood with legs slightly apart, and knees bent as if he were preparing to lunge. Something about him reminded me of an arrow, nocked and ready to fly at his enemies. Dark black hair fell gently over his face, and a cocky smile sat relaxed upon his lips. This boy was accustomed to being in trouble.

Recovering from my momentary distraction, "I mean whoever put these clothes on me is going to regret it."

"I'm regretting it right now. The color does nothing for you, and, my how it clashes with your hair." He joked. He gestured down to his own clothes, and said "Unlike you, I was conscious when they were giving me these clothes. It's the captain you're looking for, if you're serious about the whole killing him thing. Who knows, you might be in here for murder."

"You could say that."

"Well now you've got me interested." He said. He put on a gruff accent "What're ya in fer."

"Officially?" I asked. He nodded his head and I listed off the charges. "Twenty seven counts of arson, 151 counts of murder, and 12 counts of resisting arrest."

His jaw fell open. "Wow! With a track record like that you'd think I would've heard of you. What's your name."

"Alice." I said

If it were possible for his jaw to open even further, it did. "Are you telling me, that I am currently sharing a prison cell with the kingdom's most notorious prisoners? With a bounty of 100,000 crowns?"

"That is correct."

Before I could realize what was happening, I saw his arm flash and a sharp pain appeared in my shoulder. "That is for stealing my title." He said crossing his arms. "I used to be the most famous criminal in all of the five kingdoms. People used to whisper my name because they were afraid that I would overhear. I was told as a horror story to children when they were bad, and then you came along and messed everything up."

"It wasn't my fault that I blew up a town, it kind of just happened." I pleaded.

"Relax, I'm only messing with you. Really it is an honor to be in a prison cell, with the witch of the west kingdom."

It was the first time I had heard my title. "Really, the witch of the west kingdom? Could the legion be any more original in their name selection?"

He put on an exceptionally deep voice "We have a new criminal from the north kingdom. We need a name for the bounty posters. He is a thief, from the north kingdom. I know! Why don't we call him the thief of the north kingdom?"

"I could have been The Destroyer, or The Reckoning, but no, they go for Witch of the West kingdom." I laughed.

He joined in. "I knew you had a sense of humor. So aren't you going to ask why I'm here?"

I obliged him, "Why are you here?"

"Because I've got to. I didn't really get a choice in the matter."

I laughed again. "No...What're ya in fer" I asked with the same gruff voice he used on me.

"Disorderly conduct." He replied.

"I don't believe you for a second. What was all this crap about being the 'horror story for the children' and all that?"

"That's all true. I am Jack Sentan accurately named The Assassin of the Central Kingdom. The Legion don't really know what I look like, so they just think that they have someone who was making a fuss in town square."

"Never heard of you." I admitted.

"Really?" Jack said slightly put out.

"Nope, never even heard of you." Jack looked down sullenly. "but it was probably because everyone spoke your name in whispers." I said hurriedly.

"Yeah, they can't be talking about me in the open like that." He replied back to his cocky self.

"Of course not."

"Yeah! I am the greatest assassin who ever lived!" He shouted.

I was about to respond when the grating noise of metal on stone bounced through the cell. We both looked up to see a tall man, heavily bearded, step into our cell flanked by two guards. Each of them wore the mark of the emperor, a dragon perched on a sword, upon their tunics. The central one, whom I took to be the captain, looked over me disdainfully before turning to Jack. "I heard what you told the witch, and you should be pleased to know that you will be joining her in the gallows tomorrow. In fact, we were going to let you go today, although your confession means that we can call off a five year long search." He walked over to Jack and punched him across the face. Jack fell to the floor grabbing at his jaw, cursing. "I gave you the title The Assassin of the Central Kingdom." He motioned to his guards and then turned to leave.

Before they left the cell, I threw my hands in the air and shards of stone erupted from the ground and blocked them in. We were all plunged into absolute darkness. I shut my eyes and imagined a ball of light in the corner of the cell, and I felt the heat on my skin before I opened my eyes. The captain released a slew of oaths and drew his sword. Positioning it inches from my throat he said in a small voice "Let us out." The shake in his breath and his blade were noticeable, and they gave me an idea. I focused on his sword, and imagined it becoming hotter than fire. The air above the blade began to shimmer, and before long the captain dropped the sword and grabbed at his burnt hand.

Jack found his way to his feet, and grabbed at the fallen sword. I cooled it, and soon he was standing at my side, blade drawn and pointed at the cowering guards.

The captain looked absolutely terrified. He backed away nursing his hand, and fell into his two companions who hadn't even worked up the sense to draw their swords.

"I think it's time to put them out of their misery, don't you agree?" Jack asked me.

"I agree completely." I said. "I'll take the captain and the guard on the left."

"Oh come on, at least let me take both of the guards. You've got the awesome magic light, and stone thing you did. All I have is a dozen years of my life that I'll never get back training to be an assassin."

"Fine, but if we end up in this situation again for whatever reason, you better remember this."

"I don't think I could ever forget it." He promised and we leapt into motion. I willed the air surrounding the captain to harden and trap him noticed what was happening and banged on the air, but to no avail. He was trapped. My guard finally drew his sword and threw himself at me. Without time to think, I snapped my fingers and he fell to the ground, undeniably dead. I turned just in time to see Jack's guard impaled, and Jack pull the blade from his chest.

"What did you do to him?" Jack asked gesturing with his bloody blade to my guard.

"Broken neck. What did you do to yours?" I asked.

"Broken heart." He joked.

"Oh that's unfortunate. Well now what do we do with this scumbag?" I asked gesturing to the still imprisoned captain.

"Scumbag, that's a new one. If I remember correctly you got him, it's your choice what happens to him." He conceded.

"Alright well that depends on his answers." I released the air around him and he fell to the ground, with tears streaming down his face.

"Please, please." He begged. "I'll answer whatever questions you want, just don't hurt me."

"How many witches have you executed." I demanded.

"Twenty...four." He replied in choked sobs.

"How many of them were children?"

"Don't make me answer that, please don't make me."

"Answer the question!" I ordered. I raised my hands menacingly, and pictured every one of his nerves on fire. His screams filled the room, silenced rapidly followed by the thunk of his head hitting the ground. It rolled to rest at my feet, while Jack stood over the captains decapitated corpse, with his sword held limply at his side.

"What the hell was that!" I demanded.

"You were torturing him. I get it, he's a bad dude, but nobody deserves pain like that. Even as an assassin I did some pretty horrible things, but I never tortured anybody."

"Still you've heard the stories of the witch burnings. Anybody with magical power can resist fire, so that means that every witch he's killed is innocent. Don't you think he deserves a little pain for the people he's killed?"

"He got a little pain when you locked him in an air bubble and forced him to watch as we killed his friends. I don't know what you did to him, but I have never heard anyone scream that loudly."

"I'm not going to sit here and argue this with you, do you want to escape or not?" I said.

"That would be fantastic." He snapped.

"Don't you get rough with me. I can kill you right here, and you wouldn't even stand a chance." I regretted it as soon as I said it. I looked back on my years of travel since I burned my home village. I gained more control of my powers since then, but I never thought that I had become cruel or harsh. I did kill a lot of people, but it was always necessary. Wasn't it?"

"I'm sorry. I see what you mean now." I apologized.

"You can't just treat human life like that. People aren't your pawns to kill whenever it suits you."

"Funny how an assassin is giving me a lesson in the sanctity of human life." I joked.

He calmed down and returned to his happy self. "Aw, this was our first fight. Now we can look back and tell our kids that our first fight was over mommy torturing a dude."

"Wow lover boy, back it up. We've got a long way to go before then, besides I've only just met you."

"Alright, can our first date be somehow getting out of this prison cell?" He asked.

"I'm sure that can be arranged." A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I laughed from the ridiculousness of it all.

"What?" He asked.

"You and I are talking about dating and marriage, surrounded by the mangled corpses of our guards. Not exactly the most romantic situation."

He burst out laughing, and wiping away tears said "Trust me I've had worse. Wait until I've told you about my first kiss. She was also oddly enough my first assassination contract."

"Oh, breakup must have been killer."

"Believe me, I could've died." By this point we were both laughing so hard that tears were sliding down our cheeks. After years of little human contact aside from death threats and assassination attempts, just talking was nice, even if we were surrounded by dead bodies.

Wiping away a tear, I turned to face the stone spikes that separated us from freedom, I pulled my arms close into my chest, and threw them towards the wall.

The stone disintegrated and the world erupted into chaos.

Author's note-I hope you've enjoyed the first installment of my new story. (I promise that subsequent chapters won't be as gruesome) I borrowed Alice's character from one of my other stories "Daughter of the Sun" although a few key parts of her backstory will be different. Frozen tie ins will be included later in the story, the first few chapters are necessary to introduce to you the characters, and start working on backstory. Thank you for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed.


	2. Chapter 2

(Jack's POV)

I couldn't decide what to think about Alice. I watched from the corner of the cell as she swung her arms around doing some magical or ritual or something. Trying to find something abnormal or inhuman about her I looked at every piece of her in turn. She had blonde hair that fell in matted clumps down to her shoulders, striking blue eyes that had very evidently seen more than they ever should have, surprisingly pale skin that resisted the very elements in it's nature. Nothing about her screamed "witch!" or "I will kill you without a moments hesitation." She looked by all accounts, a normal girl.

Which made her treatment of the captain so much stranger. In that instant I saw her for what she truly was, a child with no direction and too much power at their disposal. I didn't pretend to know her backstory, but the stories say that she just tore through the countryside murdering indiscriminately. Granted the stories about me say that I drank the blood from my victims so indiscriminate murder seems tame, but there seems to be some truth to their claims.

In our conversation before the Captain strutted in, I could almost believe that everything about her was simply a slander campaign by the Legion to get something that her family owned. In fact I was started to like her, we clicked more than anyone I had ever met before.

A jarring crash tore me from my thoughts. and dozens of armed guards flew into the cell. Alice jumped backwards, a look of complete terror evident upon her face, quickly replaced with a terrifying fury. Almost immediately every guard in our cell put their head between their hands screeching in agony, before crumpling to the ground to move no more. I turned to Alice who seemed no more disturbed by the bodies, than if she were simply going about her day. She looked to me and shot me a look which clearly said "Are you coming or what?" before leaping out of our cell.

With a tired resignation, I followed behind and stepped through the dusty remnants of our stone wall, to see a new battle raging. It seemed that the entire cities armed forces had come to see what fate had befallen their captain. Alice stood steadfast against the approaching armies, and showed no sign of apprehension when she started to wave her arms and bodies began falling.

She stood as a vengeful god tearing through scores of men with no regard for their position, rank, or even if they were advancing towards her. If they were living, then they died. Her complicated incantations soon devolved into glances. She would shoot a look at a soldier who would promptly grab their chest and die. All I could do was watch as scores became hundreds, hundreds became thousands, and those thousands met their fate.

How could any one person have that much power inside of them, and so little restraint? The witch's fury shone bright, and soon a visible aura of fire circled her warring body, and even the bravest of soldiers turned and ran. Rather than rejoice in her victory, she placed her hands upon the ground and closed her eyes. The ground began to shake violently and no time passed before the darkness swallowed me whole.

Drifting slowly into consciousness, my eyes fluttered a bit before the open night sky became visible and my memories flooded back to me. Images of terror and destruction scarred my thoughts far worse than any of the assassinations I witnessed. Assassination was murder for an end goal, Alice had committed a genocide.

Almost as if reading my thoughts, Alice leaned into my vision, and with the cheery look of a child on christmas she said "I got my stuff, ready to go?"

I pulled up to a sitting position, and the remnants of the battlefield nearly thrust me back into unconsciousness. Thousands of bodies surrounded me, each one appearing to be in a perfect state of health, as if they were simply sleeping. The stone walls that used to be my prison were scattered around in heaps of dust and rubble. I almost audibly gagged as I noticed that buried beneath each of the heaps, I could see collections of human limbs. In a state of absolute shock and disgust, I turned back to Alice who was happily humming absolutely oblivious to the death and devastation around her.

"Alice… did you do all of this?" I asked hoping that the answer would be different from what I expected.

"Yep. I didn't want to, but they made it necessary. They wanted to kill me, so I killed them. What's wrong with that?" She asked innocently.

"The ones that were running too? Did they deserve any mercy?"

"They wanted to kill me, and they were probably running to get reinforcements or something. They had to die."

"No I really don't think they did. What about the spell you used on the Captain that trapped him, why didn't you do something similar and we could've escaped?"

"I really didn't think about that. Anyway my solution solved any potential problems we could've had with that plan."

"You've killed thousands of people! Were their lives nothing to you?"

"What do they mean to me?"

"Well what about the thousands of families that won't have a father, son, or brother come home in the morning? Can you even begin to comprehend how much suffering this one act alone caused?"

"I really don't care. Their families would string me up from the square if they could." She asserted.

"And that is an excuse to tear their lives in half? None of them were a threat."

"They could've been."

"You know what? I have to go, I can't stand another second near you. Until you learn some empathy, good riddance." I declared.

"Oh that's rich" She said losing the innocent facade completely "A lesson in empathy from the assassin, you are full of bright ideas today cut-throat."

"I never killed anyone because they might be a threat! I killed to reach a goal, never because it was the easier choice!"

"Who said it was the easier choice!" She shouted.

"Well your nonchalant attitude about the thousands of people you've killed says it all. You think that just because you were born with magic, you're somehow better than the rest of us mortals. That our lives are insignificant compared to yours oh great highness." I snapped sarcastically.

"I never said that." She argued.

"Actions speak louder than words sweetheart."

"I don't have to take this from you." She raised her hand threateningly.

"Do it. Do it and you'll have finally lost that last pesky bit of humanity eating away at you right now. Do it, I dare you."

She lifted it up a few inches higher, but then turned on her heel and stormed off. I watched her stomp away, even pausing to kick a stray weapon that just happened to be in her way, before i turned away and stepped into the shadows.

Authors note- I LIED, I'M SORRY. I know that this chapter is far more gruesome than the first but, this was planting the seeds for Alice's soon-to-be murder intervention. This will also force Jack to reconsider his position as an assassin, and question the decency of everything that he's done. It is a terrible thing really, but works as a good inciting incident for both characters. Also the Alice you see in this story isn't the Alice in The Daughter Of The Sun. Whilst key parts of their situation may be similar, they are by no accounts the same person as I have hopefully proven by their treatment of human life.


	3. Why do you run my Queen?

(Alice's POV)

I threw the bag of my belongings over my shoulder, and turned my back on Jack. As I stomped away, I couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth to what he had said. I imagined the scores of people that I had killed since I left home. Each one had done something to provoke me. Each one had attacked me in some way. Each one deserved it. So why did I feel so strange thinking about them.

I shoved the thought away, and focused on getting out of the city. My stomp turned into a tjog and then into a run. The stone buildings blurred past as I continued to speed up. The people on the cobblestone streets barely had enough time to look at me before I blew past them heading straight for the gate.

Nobody tried to stop me as I rounded a corner and darted through the gate. A sharp sting erupted from my shoulder but I didn't give it a second thought as I pressed on. It only took a few minutes before the city was a dull mass partly shrouded by the morning mist. I slowed to a walk and struggled to catch my breath.

Assessing my still stinging shoulder, I was surprised to see my entire arm soaked in blood. The wound had clotted, yet my arm was still wet and sticky. I moved to bandage it, but I before I could grab a strip of cloth off of my shirt my left arm fell limp.

There was something… nice about having my arm soaked in my own blood for a change. I allowed the stinging to fill me and I enjoyed the pain. Inexplicably I wanted to hurt, I wanted the agony.

I threw my hand outwards towards the ground and a jagged stone threw itself up at me. I caught it in my left hand, and in a swift motion drew it across my right arm directly below the first cut. A stinging like fire greeted me, letting me know that it had done its job.

"Mother." I gasped as the sweet torture raced through my shoulder down to my fingertips. Fresh blood slid down to coat its hardening brother. Oh this was pleasure. The pain was everything I had hoped it to be. I threw the stone dagger across my skin once more.

"Father!" I shouted marking the new scar as his. The pain was blinding and brilliant. I tilted my head towards the sky and laughed. A terrifying empty laugh that shook the sky. It would have been surprising had there been any light left inside of me to laugh with joy.

Once more I threw the knife across my arm and shouted the final name. A name that hadn't left my lips or been heard in a decade. "Aliendra!" I shouted my name. The edges of my vision darkened and before I succumbed to their sweet relief, I dug my hand into my bag and pulled out a silver amulet. It was nothing special aside from the now illegal emblem sprawled across its face. The emblem of Spera, her home, her kingdom. I pressed it against my chest, and fell backwards allowing the darkness to overcome.

Her eyes opened slowly and the outline of her chambers revealed themselves to my blurry senses. The cotton blankets on my feather bed pressed down on me, wrapping me in their suppressing warmth, but I couldn't go back to sleep. Not today, today was special. Today the Emperor of the western empire would be visiting. A fact that her mother wouldn't let her forget as she urged her to clean alongside her servants.

Everyone in the castle had been on edge, but I couldn't see why. The Emperor was probably just another big man wearing way too much jewelry for my taste, and he wasn't even part of Spera. He had no power her, so why was everyone so afraid.

A tall woman in plain clothing burst into the room, and helped me to put on a sparkling green dress. The dress itself was more emeralds than fabric, but I appreciated the sparkle as the woman rushed behind me to make my bed. I still couldn't see why everyone was so nervous, today was starting off great.

I made my way to the kitchen where a man in dark clothing was already seated. He didn't have bodyguards as I expected, but he didn't look like he needed them. He was broad shouldered and tall, higher than anyone else in the room. when he moved he flowed with a dark grace of a practiced killer, but I payed that no mind as I wandered over to my parents and plopped myself in a seat next to my father.

"Oh uh yes, I would like you to meet my daughter, Aliendra. Aliendra say hello to the nice man." I looked at him but said nothing. He met my gaze and stared at me with an odd curiosity. He didn't look at all offended, but my parents began to offer up apologies and excuses for my silence, but he raised a hand and they silenced.

"I understand she is just a little girl. I have a son about her age, in fact he is around here somewhere. Jonathan!" He spoke with such an authority that even I jerked to attention when he talked, although his authority was not something I wanted to find myself following. A small boy with black hair and a cocky smile rounded the corner, his feet making so sound as they hit the floor.

He looked at me, and smiled broadly. His father turned to him. "Take Aliendra and go outside. It is a glorious day, it would be a shame to see it wasted." The way he said glorious made it sound like it was quite the opposite, but I waved to Jonathan and he followed me out to the garden.

As I left I heard a few words that I didn't understand. "Annexation..cautious" and then one final word that I understood quite well "warning."

Jonathan and I (He insisted I call him Jack, but I preferred his prince name) played out in the garden for hours until one of the maids called us in for lunch. I ate like I normally did, tearing into my food and wasting no time on forks and knives, yet Jonathan ate to, put it simply, like a prince. He carved each bite to a perfect size and raised it to his mouth without a single piece falling out of place. I meant to comment on it, but then a few servants brought out dessert and I quickly forgot.

Night fell, and I went away to bed. I couldn't have been asleep for more than a few hours when a crash echoed through the castle. Wiping sleep from my eyes, I grabbed a candle off of the nightstand and, without magic, I lit it. I walked the normal path to my parent's room, but surprisingly I wasn't the only one there.

My father and my mother stood at the ready, both with swords drawn while the Emperor on the other side of the room simply laughed. He stood unarmed, but my parents did not advance, they just stood petrified.

"Aliendra go back to bed." My mother warned but I stood absolutely still, waiting for the moment when my parents would kill the emperor and we could live in peace. Despite the overwhelming odds the emperor still continued to laugh. Then finally with a wave of his hand a dagger flew from nowhere aimed directly at my father's heart.

A bolt of lightning flew from my hand, that I didn't remember stretching, to obliterate the dagger. The emperor looked at me and began to laugh even harder. He threw two more knives this time directly at me, but each one I met with a blast of light and heat before they could reach me.

"My liege." My father the king of Spera said to the emperor "We surrender just please let her go." The emperor looked at him with a crooked grin on his face, and moved to throw another dagger.

I caught him first, and threw several bolts of lighting directly at his chest. He looked surprised and each bolt embedded itself in him, and he fell to his knees. I stood shocked at what I had done, until he stood up and my bolts flew out of him, and into both of my parents.

They screamed for a second before their bodies melted to dust, and I couldn't even comprehend what had happened. I screamed and screamed and screamed until the Emperor raised his hand and the air fell out of my throat.

"Imagine that. Aliendra killing her own parents to help the empire. Well queen of Spera" He said with a mock bow." We'll be sure to mention this at your execution. Now if you could come with me."

Even as a child I knew that following him meant certain death, so I turned and ran away,

and continued running to this day.

I opened my eyes and the ache in my shoulder reminded me where I was. That was the day that Aliendra queen of Spera died, and with her death Spera became the eastern kingdom. It was also the day that Alice was born, and the world knew fear.

Author's note- I'm taking a turn away from what this was originally supposed to be, with her going to Arendelle to kill -. I feel like this will be a better story than what simple 'vengeance for no crime committed' story I was going to tell before. I hope you enjoy, thank you for reading.


	4. The Compassionate Killer

(Jack's POV)

Watching Alice tear away and shoot off like an arrow left me slightly unnerved. A feat in itself considering the fact that thousands of bodies still littered the cobblestones around my feet. I bent down to the nearest one and looked him over. He looked to be no older than 18, and his armor was still relatively new. Each soldier was given a tunic emblazoned with the crest of the empire on the day the enlist (or were drafted as the emperor needed new troops to invade peaceful land) and it was a mark of their experience how deteriorated their tunic was.

This nameless corpse at my feet still had a brand new tunic. He couldn't have been in the army for more than a few months, and yet here he was as dead as any other.

Shifting my gaze, I began to search for the wound that killed him. I don't know why, perhaps it was just morbid curiosity. From the way his head rested on the ground, it appeared as if he died from a broken neck: completely painless.

I moved onto the next. A grayed veteran with less of a tunic and rather a tattered mess of stitches and old blood. In his endless sleep, he appeared rather peaceful. There was no evidence that he had ever seen violence, or had done anything but live a good life and die quietly. His death was the same as the boy's, quick and apparently painless.

The third and final body I looked over was that of a young woman. Her tunic was the same as the boy's, and she appeared slightly younger. I scoffed a little at the sight. I had trained by enough women in the Assassin's keep to know that they were a force to be reckoned with, as strong or stronger than any male, but the emperor was not of the same opinion. He must be running really low on farmers to yank from their lives to drop into the ferocity of battle, if he resorted to enlisting women.

Focusing again on the woman I found no sign of external wounds, or any that proved she was in any pain when she died. Somehow the thought comforted me, and I thought back to the villain that slaughtered all of these people. I tried to imagine her as a cold heartless beast that kills for pleasure and washes her hands in blood. (funnily enough that was how parents described me to their children) With each passing second I realized that despite all of the caused here, she tried to minimize it as much as possible.

Aside from the captain of the guard, it looked like she caused no unnecessary pain at all. With that realization my perspective of her shifted even further. She was a girl with too much power, and a heart that she didn't know how to use.

I looked down at the bodies, at the people she killed, and wondered. Would she see their faces when she slept as I did. Would they walk up to her one by one and call her what she was, a murderer. I shook the thought from my head.

An urge to bury them arrived in my mind. Ha bury them. Me the greatest assassin in all of the Empire bury a few people that I don't even know: laughable. Even as I shoved the thought away, a remnant of that feeling remained.

A scream cut through the night. High pitched and girlish, I knew that whoever it belonged to was currently being tortured. Without thought, I threw myself towards the sound and started running.

It only took a minute for me to find her, Alice, laying on a grassy bed coating it in blood, her face upturned in a pained grimace. I looked around quickly for the threat, staring down the shadows daring them to move. She looked as if somebody had stabbed her, I was going to kill whoever did this.

Suddenly she stirred and I threw myself to her side. She opened an eye and looked at me. I suddenly felt rather protective as she lay there completely defenseless. Well as defenseless as a ruthless with with unlimited power could be.

"Who did this to you? I will tear them to pieces!" I muttered filling each word with venom. She gave a sheepish grin and from her hand fell a jagged stone coated in blood, her blood. Realization dawned on me, and I expanded my view of her. A girl with too much power, a heart that she didn't know how to use, and an affinity for hurting herself.

She pulled herself into a sitting position and grasped her wounded arm. She looked at me as if waiting for something. "Well?" She demanded. "Where is the whole tearing me to pieces thing? I was kind of excited, I wanted to see you try." Even half asleep and in pain, she was still as arrogant and cocky as ever.

"Why?" I asked softly. "Why would you do that to yourself?"

"Why do you care?" She countered.

Suddenly trapped, "I… I don't, it's just I don't like seeing people get hurt, by anything."

She grinned, she had won "Funny thing for an assassin to hate, causing injury."

"I never said I wanted to be an assassin!" I shouted.

"Well then what did you want to be?" She asked.

"Don't go changing the topic. I wanted to know why you felt the need to cut yourself." I demanded.

"And I wanted to know why you became an assassin if you hate pain." She countered.

"Stalemate then."

"Stalemate." We sat in silence for a few minutes. Despite whom I was sitting with, I felt oddly comfortable. I looked at her and she met my gaze. I searched her eyes for some trace of the darkness that must dwell within, the evil that allows her to kill so mercilessly but I found nothing. By all accounts, she looked just like a normal girl.

"You're staring." She pointed out. I quickly averted my gaze, color filling my cheeks. We sat in silence for another few moments before I blurted out "I wanted to be the king. Before I became an assassin I thought that I could be king." She started to smile and looked as if she was biting back laughter "Don't laugh at me. I thought I could do some good if I had some power."

"I'm not laughing." She said fighting back so hard that tears were threatening to fall out of her eyes.

"I don't even know how I could have become king, or emperor as we should call it since the kings have no real power anymore. Anyway I've answered your question, now answer mine Why were you cutting yourself?"

"I felt bad about killing those men." She said quickly. I knew she was lying. but I didn't press further.

"There is something else that you can do." I said

"What?"

"Rarely in life do we ever kill for the right reasons. Promise me that the next time you kill, that do ask yourself if you are killing for the right reason. If there is any doubt in your mind, then leave them alive. Promise me that."

She sat silently and still for a few moments before responding "okay." She said quietly "I promise,"

Satisfied I turned away. "Good, because I haven't slept in days and I am tired. It was through this that I the Jack Santan the assassin, slept through the morning sun with the second greatest killing force in the country watching over me. I felt completely safe.

Several hours later a dark gloved hand found its way in front of my mouth, and I was roughly thrown into a cart. The force of the impact knocked me unconscious, and the darkness swallowed me whole.

Author's note-I am really excited for the next chapter in this series. I'm not going to say anything more, but I cannot wait to write it. Thank you as always for taking the time to read my humble story, I appreciate it greater than most things. Thank you.


	5. What Is Your Name?

(Alice's POV)

What happened after he fell asleep and I followed after him was a blur. I remember several tall powerfully built men wearing the emperor's tunic bundling us up and throwing us into the back of a cart. Jack woke up just enough to realize what was happening, and to be knocked right out again when he hit the cart. Still half asleep and struggling against the pain in my head, I drifted off.

The clinking sound of a key turning in a lock jerked me from my uneasy sleep. Before opening my eyes, I tried to convince myself that it was all just a dream. I was still on the ground in the clearing away from the city. I was with Jack who was waiting to scold me again for killing those men. Thinking about Jack was comforting somehow, even though I let him down.

The heavy iron door flew open and I was forced to accept the reality. I was captured again, but it wasn't as if I couldn't escape whenever I wanted. I force my heartbeat to calm, and I opened my eyes to face my captor.

Whatever calmness I found was immediately thrown out of the window when I beheld my captor. Powerfully built with dark ornate clothing that cost more than a village. Eyes devoid of any color and black hair falling down to his neck. All scruffiness aside his expression said one thing "I am more powerful than you can ever hope to be." I was looking directly at the Emperor of the united kingdoms.

He snapped his fingers and two guards that I hadn't noticed left the cell. The shut the door and locked it with another heavy clank, leaving the Emperor and I alone in the cell. Big mistake. I tried to throw myself at him, to gouge out his murderous eyes, but a sharp snap in my shoulder revealed the chains locking me in place. Similar ones held my ankles locking me in a sitting position on a stone slab. No matter, I was still the most powerful with in the world.

I focused on his neck and imagined it snapping violently. He continued to look down on me pitifully. I tried again and imagined the air in his throat hardening so that he suffocated. He still looked fine, his mouth upturned in a slight smile. With a final jerk, I tried to drop the stone ceiling down on his head and crush the life out of him, but even the ceiling resisted my will. I was for the first time in my life, completely powerless.

My head slumped down in defeat, and he began to speak. His voice grated against me and my ears felt assaulted by the sound. If I had control over my hands I would have thrown them over my ears to muffle the traitor's speech. "I am assuming by now that you have tried to kill me every way that you can imagine, yes?"

I looked up and stared through his dark eyes, defiant. When I didn't respond he snapped his hand across my face faster than I thought possible. I heard a sharp snap, and my jaw hung limp. With a single slap he had broken my jaw. Blinding pain erupted from the wound, and tears fell down my cheeks.

"You will answer me when I ask you a question, and you will answer it Yes Sir or No sir. Is that understood?" It took a second for what he said to register. He took that second as defiance. "Is that understood!" He shouted.

"Yesh shir." I mumbled as the blood began to pool in my mouth. I tried to make my jaw move but it remained firmly locked.

"Pathetic. Well I suppose you can't answer my questions if you can't speak, so I will grant you reprieve this time." He stared at my gaw intensely for a moment before the pain eased considerably and a noticeable snap alerted me that my jawbone was back in place. "Now what do you say?"

"Thank you, your majesty." I said recoiling from the possibility of another slap.

"Hmpf. Now onto the matter at hand. I am not an unreasonable man, so to provoke you to answer my questions honestly I will allow you to ask one question of me. One question that I will answer completely and honestly, in the hopes that you do the same. Does this sound fair?"

"Yes sir." I answered submissively.

"Alright." He leaned against the wall in a pose that was supposed to be relaxed, but he just ended up glaring from a slightly lower position. "Ask away."

I wanted to ask why he invaded all of those kingdoms, why he banned magic, and why he is attacking kingdoms far from here with the same ruthlessness, but a question fell off of my lips before i had time to consider. A question that surprised me in its importance. I looked up to the king and asked with a shaky breath "Where is Jack?"

His booming laugh filled the cell, and I couldn't help but feel sheepish as he looked down on me. For some reason the question bounced around my mind and I wanted to know the answer, I needed to know the answer. What had become of the boy I had failed to protect.

The emperor mimed the wiping away of a tear, and collected himself. "Your male companion was executed upon arrival. He is now currently on his way to be deposited in one of the mass graves near the Imperial Sickhouse. He was of no significance to me. No-" He continued to talk but the world grew cold quickly and I couldn't suppress a shiver.

I had known him for all of three hours before he… he. "Alice." I said to myself. "You knew him for a few hours calm down. How is he different from anyone else you've killed?" Then I realized. He wasn't. He wasn't different from the thousands I had killed. Everyone had hopes, dreams, regrets, and people that... loved them. I fought the urge to vomit as the true wait of what I had been doing for years fell onto me.

How had the assassin known more about humanity, and compassion than I? Now he was gone, and I could never thank him for showing it to me. I could never tell him how much he meant to me.

"Stop being silly." A voice shouted from the back of my mind, "You didn't know him long enough to care about him. He was a boy, nothing more." The voice spoke truth and I calmed myself down. I hadn't known him for long, but I doubted that I would ever forget him.

It was then I noticed the steady stream of tears sliding down my cheeks. I wanted to wipe them away, and to show more dignity in front of the emperor, but I was still chained. So unrestrained the tears fell.

"Did you not hear me girl!" He shouted tearing me from my thoughts. It wasn't a question.

"Sorry your majesty." I forced my voice to remain calm and steady. "No sir I did not. Please repeat the question."

"If you were anyone else I would have you hanging from that statement alone, and that day will come but for now. What is your name?" He said gruffly.

"Alice Springhaven." I answered.

"Ha! Well aren't you arrogant. Did you think that the name Springhaven would make you sound more impressive? No, what is your Real name?"

"That is my real name." I swore.

"Liar!" He shouted, and suddenly the world did not exist. I could not see, I could not hear past the pain erupting from every point in my body. I felt as if every nerve were burning, but wouldn't burn up. I could think past nothing but wishing that it would end, through any means.

The pain stopped as quickly as it began, and he asked again softly. "What is your name?" I don't know where I found the strength, but I looked up and stared him down. "Alice." Fire flew down my spine and hunted down every part of my body that wasn't ignited to add to its fiery bounty. The pain was unbearable, and I swore that I would tell him if he would just make the pain stop. It continued for a few more seconds, each feeling like a year, and then it ceased entirely.

"What is your name?"

I opened my mouth to tell him the truth, but hardened quickly picturing Jack's face. "My true name, given to me by my mother… is Alice Springhaven." Flashing a cocky smile I added "What's yours?"

He screamed filling the cell with the sound of his fury. Every part of me wanted to shrink from his rage, but I held my gaze. I wouldn't make this easier for him. He leaned over and smashed my jaw once more, before he tore out of the cell, leaving me alone. My mouth started to fill with blood, and I wanted to scream in pain, but the image of Jack held me firm.

(Jack's POV)

I awoke quickly and my assassin instincts kicked in. Without opening my eyes, I counted two guards, each standing a foot away from me blocking the door with their bodies. I was chained at the wrists and ankles meaning that this was an interrogation cell. I was last held in the prisons of Ber'Check, and the only dungeon with interrogation cells near Ber'Check was the capital. I was in Vellhaven, a hundred feet below the Emperor's palace.

No, no no no no this couldn't be happening. I couldn't be back here, after all I did to get away. Despite all of the running and hiding he still managed to find me, and now there was no escape. I was trapped, and I couldn't run anymore. He'd force the choice I had been running from all my life upon me, the one that prompted me running away in the first place.

The loud clunk alerted me that my interrogator was here. I kept my breathing steady and mimicked sleep, even as the door swung open, and the footsteps of the Emperor banged against the floor and stopped a foot from me.

"You never could fool me boy." He snapped, and I opened my eyes. He stood there same as ever, the disappointed look etched on his face as if it were a mask that he could never take off.

"Hi dad."

Author's note- As the review I wanted to respond to so greatly was a guest review, I will respond to all of them here in the hopes that the respective writers read my response. To Amaryllis, I may include members of the original cast of Frozen as throwaway text, none of the original members will be key members of the story. To Shawn Raven, I appreciate your response, it was very kind of you to say. Reviews like yours make writing stories like these worthwhile, and I'm glad that you are enjoying it as much as me. To everyone that has taken the time to read my modest story, Thank you.


	6. The Prince Obeys

(Jack's POV)

The Emperor of the Five Kingdoms, my father, looked me up and down, his face contorting into disgust with each passing glance. With no hope for escape I stared down at my bare feet, submissive.

"The tales of your exploits would have been hard pressed to elude my ears Jack." He spat my name with such disdain that I felt myself recoil. As he spoke I felt myself fall back into my routine when I lived in the castle: listen but say nothing.

"You shed your name so easily it almost felt as if you didn't want to be attached to me, you didn't want to be called a Ternac. Do you know how hard I had to work to keep people from realizing who you were? Have you even thought about the hundreds of people I've had to execute to protect this family from your shame? Well boy, have you?"

He stopped talking, and I took that to mean he wanted a response. If it were anyone else I would've told the truth: I had been frightened of what my leaving had caused, but my father would accept no answer other than no, so I obliged him.

"No, I didn't." I said quietly.

"What was that?" He demanded, his voice only a bit louder than mine but filled with stolen authority.

"No sir. I did not."

"Of course you didn't. Why would you? Jack Sentan, the world's greatest assassin, bah! Why would you care for anyone other than yourself? Running around butchering people in the streets, one would think that you'd gone mad."

"It was nothing less than what you've been doing." I don't know why I said it, but I regretted it immediately. A sharp pain in my left cheek alerted me that he was dissatisfied with what I said too. The sting in my cheek was that of a slap rather than a broken bone, he had held back.

"You watch your tongue boy or I'll have it cut out. You're lucky you have it or I'd have killed you the moment you stepped into this castle." From somewhere within his tunic he pulled out a small bundle of wood. He set it on the ground in front of me, and looked at me expectantly.

"What do you want me to do...sire? He snorted but said nothing of it.

"I know you have it boy." He glanced down at the bundle and it erupted into a roaring fire, and with another glance the fire extinguished itself. The sticks were unharmed. That was impossible, not down here. I looked back at my father.

"The magic nullification curse has been lifted on this chamber alone. Your witch friend had some fun with it. She was so powerful, it was a pity I had to kill her."

"NO!" I shouted and yanked against the chains. She couldn't be dead. She was too stubborn to give in, and she had torn through so many men so easily. How would one render her powerless? No this wasn't possible. I looked up at my father, a fire in my eyes. I would tear him limb from limb when he released me, if he released me.

"Yes!" My father shouted and I was about to yank the very chains from the walls, when I realized he wasn't looking at me. He was looking at the bundle of sticks. The sticks were on fire!

I didn't have any magic, this wasn't possible. I knew my father had some power in him, but I had thought... had hoped that I hadn't gotten them.

"That's my boy!" He shouted, not sounding proud at all, but rather satisfied. Like a child receiving a good gift. "Now since you are my son, and you have the power, I am going to give you a second chance. You will serve under me, and you will do everything I ask, when I ask it, or there will be consequences. If I find out that you have betrayed me in any way, I will kill your mother. If you continue I will kill your sister, that you so easily abandoned when you went gallivanting all over the countryside killing people. Is my offer not generous?"

"It is your majesty." I said desperately trying to keep fear from my voice, but when it cracked at the end The emperor smiled. He had beaten me.

"Your first assignment is a simple one. Lord Tiriel has been seen communicating with known rebels. I don't want to take the chance. Your assignment is to track him down and kill him, and if I know you you'll want to kill his entire family too so go wild." I most certainly would not. "You have two weeks to complete the task. You will return his amulet, and his head, to me. Failure to complete either objective will be seen as treason and you know what I will do." My father stepped out of the cell, and a guard replaced him to unshackle me from my seat.

I stood up massaging my wrists, and followed my father out of the dungeons. He led me to the great gardens directly outside of his castle. The greenest grass on this side of the kingdom, my mother once told me. After I left I realized it was the only green grass on this side of the kingdom.

We stopped beside the gate.

"You know what is at stake. Do not fail me." He ordered.

"I won't your majesty." I said softly.

"Do not forget this kindness I have shown you, now get out of my sight."

I stepped through the gates and into the world, free no more. I sprinted away towards the nearby city, found a dark corner, and began to cry.

(Alice's POV)

"What is your name?" He demanded.

"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, and I have been told that your name is mine too." I snapped. I refused to put anyone else in danger by revealing my true name. Despite the fact that my kingdom had fallen a decade ago, there were still people loyal to Spera, and if I died the Emperor would have a revolution on his hands. I had a responsibility to my people, I would not let them die for me. A sharp burst of fiery pain throughout my entire body told me that he was not amused. The fire lasted only a few seconds, but it was not getting easier to bear.

"Do you not wish the pain to end? It can stop if you just tell me your name." He promised.

"Alright… fine… my name is Emperor Ternac and I am a massive-" I proceeded to say some very rude things, and another burst of fire showed me his dissatisfaction.

This had become our routine. He would barge in and repair my jaw so that I could speak, then ask me what my name was. I would answer saying anything but my true name and he would torture me. The agony was unbearable in those moments, but it stopped quickly enough, and he would as again. This would go on for about an hour until he would get infuriated and break my jaw before barging out. Thus was our routine, and I clung to it for survival, for any measure of strength when my people's faces blurred and Jack begged me to move on.

Jack. I had betrayed him and left him to die. Jack, rotting somewhere amidst other corpses, not even getting the honor of a proper burial. Jack, the boy who felt safe enough to rely on me. Jack, I thought about him in the hours when the Emperor left me alone. I used that time to silently greave. Tears fell down my immobile jaw as guilt tore me from the inside out. Death would be too good for me.

"What is your name!" He shouted. I recognized the signs, he was on the edge. I knew the pain that was coming but if I could outlast him for a moment longer he would leave, and I could be alone.

"Why do you care?" I shouted back.

"You care enough to hide it from me, so it matters. What is your name?"

"Brittany Shinebeck" Referring to the popular singer that moved with the caravans of the southern Kingdom. "And I just waaaant you to looove mee." I sang. This sent him over the edge, and a smack in the cheek alerted that he was done with me for the day.

As he left I hoped desperately that I could set him on fire, freeze his blood, suffocate him, but nothing. My magic was useless, and he was too powerful.


	7. Kill For Your Freedom

(Alice's POV)

After our session in which I had claimed that I was Alice, Zhak the great cat warrior, and his long lost heir Distasio, he stormed out absolutely fuming. I smiled grimly to myself. In the corner of my mind the whispers began as they always did about this time. Will I get out? What happens after? I quickly silenced them knowing that brooding thoughts will do nothing but make my sacrifice harder. I had no intention of surviving this.

A guard entered shortly after with my one meal. It was comprised entirely of some brown substance that had no flavor and revolted whenever I tried to swallow it. The guard shoved a spoon into it, and force fed it past my useless jaw. I tried to make an appreciative sound but it came out as more of a guttural groan.

Once I was finished with my distasteful meal, the guard unhook my chains and moved me over to a bucket in the corner. He politely turned his back as I did my business, and he led me back to my slab. This was my life now, and I would have no escape.

A few hours later the door flew open again, and the Emperor emerged with a triumphant grin on his face. I knew that whatever was coming next would not be pleasant, as he did not wait for our usual time together.

With a snap of his fingers he repaired my jaw, and pulled something out of his cloak. From where I was sitting it looked just like an empty jar, but that couldn't be the case. Why would he be so happy about an empty jar. He knew that he was about to get what he so desperately craved.

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret." He declared, his gruesome grin still plastered over his too-pale face. "This room has a few properties that you may find different from other prisons. For starters I have placed a curse onto all objects in this room to negate all magical effects cast by any other than myself. The second is that I built my castle on an important magical site. Some say that this is where magic entered the world thousands of years ago, but it is far more likely to be just a site where many people practiced their magic. Anyway this land still remembers the magic once cast upon it, and so all spells are imbued with extra power when cast from anywhere in this castle. Before I unleash what is in this jar upon you, I, your most gracious Emperor, will grant you one final chance. What is your name?"

"Ronny Williams. I grew up in a small farm town, and I moved to the big city to seek my fortune." I said.

"A pity, for the creature in this jar is none other than a Cogitatio Vermis. A creature from the Eastern Kingdom." My face paled. I knew all about the power that the mind worm held. By itself it just caused headaches and occasional hallucinations of sounds and colors. Imbued with dark magic, it allowed free reign in the thoughts and memories of anyone the wizard chooses. Their use in Spera had been banned for centuries, but whispers were still heard.

"I see that you recognize it. Then you know the power it has normally, although within this castle its power is magnified. I can pierce every thought you've ever had, and you can do nothing to stop me. Final chance, what is your name?"

"Alice Springhaven!" I shouted with as much conviction as I could muster.

"Then I pity you." From within his cloak he drew an ornate dagger and began the ritual. First he drew the knife across his skin and fed his blood to the cogitatio vermis as an offering. The cogitatio vermis feasted until every drop of blood was gone from the jar. Then he slashed through my wrist, quite mercilessly at that, and dropped my blood into the jar as well. I knew the next part well and tried to shut it out as he chanted.

He spoke words long forgotten, and boiled the blood inside the creature. The worm screamed in absolute agony as it was boiled from the inside out. Finally the screaming stopped and I knew what was left. The creature had survived but every ounce of kindness and empathy was burned from it. It was a ruthless servant, and the Emperor was its master.

Satisfied the Emperor reached into the jar and placed the creature in the palm of his hand. The creature curled up in fear, but once it saw me it stood uncoiled itself. It leaned towards me as if a weapon of war, and awaited its masters approval to strike.

The emperor nodded and the creature lunged. It clung to me face and I shook and screamed , trying everything to get the vile creature off of me. Despite my fervent attempts the creature hung on. Inch by inch it climbed up my cheek towards my nose. I shouted and screamed but the emperor only smiled, he was enjoying this. I shifted and jerked harder and faster but it was no use. The creature finally reached my nose and with a slimy sting it leapt in. I felt the pressure travel up to my brain, and my life truly flashed before my eyes.

Mentally I compiled a list of facts that I did not want the emperor to know, and I forced them all from my mind. He tore through my memories violently.

I watched through my eyes once more as young Aliendra was just learning how to control her powers. This was before that terrible night. Aliendra had accidentally burned a few books in the library and was getting scolded by an elderly woman.

"Honestly...Alice… you can't go running around burning books like this, it's disrespectful. Pay more attention when… is teaching you how to control your powers. It may save your life if you ever decide to visit the empire." She added with a chuckle. I quickly modified the memories to use Alice instead of my real name, and cut out my mother's name. He wouldn't get anything that easily.

Next flashed my first kill after I had accidentally killed my parents. I was walking alone on the northern border of Spera, the chill frosting me to the bone. I was still in my nightgown and it did little to protect me from the bitter I would not survive long. I quickly collected a few logs fallen from a nearby evergreen tree. I didn't know who had felled it, but I was grateful.

I threw all of the logs small enough for me to carry into a pile, and stared at it. I snapped my fingers and pointed but nothing happened. Finally I gave up, and threw another stick at it in resigned frustration, when I noticed that it was alight!

"You there!" A male voice shouted from nearby. I turned to see a squad of soldiers walking towards me. They looked the same as the ones who had ransacked the royal house, and stole the kingdom from me. I looked up at them hate evident even on my childish face.

"Practicing magic in the Empire is strictly prohibited under the royal decree by his majesty Emperor Ternac." He recited.

"We are not it the Empire, we are in Spera." I responded defiance evident even in my voice back then.

"Spera has been officially annexed by the empire. You have been caught committing the crime of magic for which there is only one punishment. You may have a moment to pray to whichever gods you choose."

There was no point before then in my life that I had felt fear. I had felt apprehension before getting scolded by my parents, or nervousness whenever I was to perform a test.

I felt guilt when I misbehaved but never fear. I had never tasted true fear, until then.

My heart sped up and my senses sharpened. I could count every strand of fabric in the soldiers uniform as he looked at me expectantly. I obliged him.

I knew exactly what I wanted to say. If I was to die, I would do so smiling, not cowering like a rabbit. So I held my head up high and shouted to the heavens. "Gods! pray give me the strength to strike down these mortal fools as they attempt to defeat...Alice, the greatest witch in all of the land." It was that moment that my old self was dead, and Alice was born. I was Alice. I am Alice.

The guards took that as the signal to begin their execution. They stepped forward swords held high, but stopped. None of them could penetrate an invisible barrier separating them from me. For the first time I felt my magic. It was not a power inside of me, but an appendage similar to an arm or leg. I could move it and control it by will. The fear quickly dissipated, I was in control now.

"You may take my home. You may take everyone I love. You can not take me! So come on then! See if your army can defeat an 8 year old girl. Let's see how you were trained to slaughter children. What are you waiting for? Attack cowards!" I waved my arm and the field separating us dissipated. They charged forward a bit more apprehensive now, but like good soldiers they maintained the charge. The nearest swung his sword towards my shoulder attempting to decapitate me, but he met a solid shield of air only an inch above my neck.

"What, aren't you strong enough to cut through Air?" I taunted. He became furious and cut and slashed at every part he could reach. His two companions joined in and swung until they could lift their swords no further. all of them slumped as they fanned themselves, and were drenched in sweat despite the intense heat.

An idea appeared in my head, and I focused on it hoping that it would work. To begin I hardened the air around the soldiers so that they couldn't move. Next I imagined a dagger of ice forming in my hand. I felt the weight from, but not the cold. I could resist ice of my own generation, suddenly the world seemed much warmer. I looked at each of the now terrified faces wondering who to kill first. I felt that the central one, most likely the captain, had been the most forward with me. He should die last.

I stuck my dagger through the first shield, and murdered my innocence. The first soldier looked down to see the ice dagger embedded in his chest. He crumpled to the snowy ground, red spilling out to cover the ice. The shield around him vanished with his death.

My first kill. My first true, intended murder. I never thought that I could take another human life, but killing the people who took, I remembered that that the Emperor was observing every thought I had, everything from me. I want to say that it changed me, that from that moment on the world made a little less sense, but it didn't. My world truly fell apart when my parents died. There was nothing left to lose. There was no childhood innocence to vanquish, I already had blood on my hands when I broke the barrier and stabbed that man. I didn't know his name. I didn't care. He was my enemy.

I stabbed the second man in the same manner as the first, and turned to the captain. I wanted him free for this. I waved my hand, and the barrier shattered. He fell to the ground and groveled, to an eight year old girl.

"Spare me please, I won't tell anyone." He swore. Then another thought occurred to me.

"No, you may go free only if you tell everyone. Alice the witch is coming. Tell them to fear me, and to run from the very mention of my name. If they can give me peace, I won't kill them."

"I will, I swear it." He then turned and sprinted away, leaving his sword discarded near his bloody comrades. I wanted to kill him badly, but I knew that if people were afraid of me. Then I wouldn't have to kill anymore. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The image shifted and I knew where I was. I was sitting on an ornate chair in my jeweled dress, on that fateful day. No! He couldn't have found this! I focused on a goblet, the light anything but what was going on. The rest of the vision dimmed, and a goblet came into focus. I heard a deep voiced shout of outrage from somewhere beyond this reality, and the rest of the vision focused. He had just enough time to see a handsome boy with black hair sit opposite of me, before- ENOUGH!

I tore myself from the vision, and black dust fell out of my nose. The worm had been destroyed. I sneezed once, twice, three times until every ounce of that vile powder was on the floor. The Emperor bore a strange expression before forming his face into a disappointed glare.

"Alright Alice. I shall return in a few days with another worm, I expect you not to destroy this one, or I shall make it quite unpleasant for you." The Emperor turned to a guard and whispered into his ear for a few moments. The guard looked perplexed and then resigned before answering "Yes Sir."

Without breaking my jaw, the Emperor tore out of the room, a deadly gleam in his eye.

"The Emperor has ordered that until you confess, your food rations will be halved. I shall be retiring to my chambers shortly, and a new guard will take my place although you've been here long enough that I shouldn't have to explain that to you. I offer you a break to use your chamberpot, and I encourage you to take it. My replacement won't be down here for a while."

"Okay." I said softly, all bravado gone. When the Emperor was gone I shrank back into myself. There was nobody worth pretending for. The guard unchained me from the bench, and turned around. Rubbing my wrists I noticed a gleam in the corner of my eye. The guards dagger was sticking out from the back of his pants, within reaching distance.

Quickly I swiped the dagger, and before he could respond I buried it in his back, directly where his heart was. He was dead before he hit the ground. I stole his key off of his corpse and opened the door. The hallway was completely deserted. At the end of the hallway was a staircase leading up, I limped towards it as my legs weren't used to walking after so much time sitting down.

I made my way up the stairs. and viewed the open chamber of the castle entryway. To my left stood the ornate doors to enter the throne room. On the opposite side stood a hallway that supposedly went to living quarters. On the floor lay a grand rug coated in the blood-red and golden seal of the empire. On my right, stood the entryway to the building, and in the right circumstances an exit.

My legs groaned and screamed as I pushed them to run. I ran over to the doors and threw them open. Golden sunlight burned my eyes and I could not see. White overwhelmed everything, and I felt the urge to duck back inside simply to avoid the burning light.

I jumped to the right, and tried to make myself as small as possible until my eyes adjusted. After a few painful minutes, I looked up at the sun high in the center of the sky. I tore my gaze down, and looked at the gate, it was...open. A severe oversight, but a lucky break for me. I sprinted through the gate, and into the city.

I was free, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it had been too easy.

Author's note- As an author I am enjoying writing this story immensely. Creating these characters has been a welcome challenge, and one that I find myself thinking about even when doing other things throughout the day. Thank you for continuing to read my stories, I greatly appreciate it.


	8. You Have Done Well My Son

(Jack's POV)

Assassin instincts completely in control, I cut through the shadows directly behind Lord Tiriel's mansion. I did not know what he had done to offend the Emperor, I did not care. There was too much at stake.

I slid through his background gardens, making no sound as my feet beat against the cobblestone walkway. The fool didn't even have a patrol guard. He was making this too easy.

Tonight for a brief period I got to be Jack Sentan, the world's greatest assassin. I couldn't forget what was at stake, but for I while I could enjoy the rush. The thrill of the hunt. I had used the past week to painstakingly memorize Lord Tieriel's schedule, and the schematics of his mansion overlooking the village Backraden.

I glanced quickly up to the second story window on the east side, the Lord's bedroom. It was past two so his candle had already been extinguished, and the wax has had time to cool.

I shimmied up the side of the manor, and pried open the window using a dagger. They popped open with a faint click, and I paused. The breathing of Lord Tiriel and his wife did not change. With a sharp exhale I threw myself into the room, and overlooked my prey.

Lord Tiriel and his wife were no less than sixty years old. Gray hair fell from their heads onto their pillows, and wrinkles coated their skin. Even asleep the kindness that I had noticed was still evident on their faces. Lord Tiriel had crinkles around his eyes as if he were still remembering a good joke.

Suddenly repulsed by the job I had been assigned to do, I looked down at my sword. Still sheathed, the dark iron the forged the blade was barely visible. It suddenly seemed very fitting. It was with a tool of darkness, that I would strike down kindness.

I drew the blade with a faint hiss, said a quick prayer for Lord Tiriel, and swung downward.

I looked away just as the sound of metal cutting through flesh filled my ears, and I knew the deed had been done.

The great looming castle of my father stood in the distance, a monument to the agony and suffering that still filled the landscape. My horse groaned but I pushed it even further, I wanted to be rid of these trophies as soon as possible. The disgusting sack beat against my leg, and the jingle of a chain in my pocket, reminded me of the sin I had committed for my own selfish means.

The guards nodded and opened the gate as I neared it. Even from up on my horse I still saw the fear in their eyes. Good, it'll keep them from asking too many questions.

I neared the grand ornate doors, each about ten men high. They formed a grand archway, and each bore half of the insignia of the empire. The golden dragon upon the blood-red sword. It suddenly seemed much more fitting to me.

I threw myself off of my horse, my knees stuttering from their sudden use. I forced myself to walk normally, and shoved open the doors. The grand hall filled my vision, and its silence was welcoming. Across the hall stood the doors to the throne room. Sucking in as much air as I could, I walked across the hall and shoved the doors open.

It would have been beautiful had anyone else been sitting upon that throne. The entire room was crafted not from the stone the rest of the castle used, but from a white crystal. The floors, ceiling, walls, and pillars were each built entirely from the opaque gem. The only changes were a crimson carpet leading up to a golden throne. Upon that throne sat the man of darkness.

My father was listening to a guard tell him a story, the man looked frightened but the Emperor seemed satisfied.

Once the man finished my father said "It is a good thing that he is dead, or else I would have killed him myself. Do not let this happen again or I will string all of you up by your toes." Taking his dismissal the guard quickly bowed and walked briskly out of the room, not even glancing in my direction.

Once alone I slowly walked to my father and bowed. After a few seconds he grunted, and I stood up straight. I pulled the pack off of my shoulder, and pulled my deadly prize from within. An aged male head sat motionless in my hand. Dried blood splattered all across his chin and neck. I tossed Lord Tiriel's head to my father's feet and a broad grin stretched across his face.

"Good job boy. I knew I could count on you." The Emperor declared absolutely delighted at his prize. "And what of his amulet?" I pulled the golden chain out of my pocket and tossed it up to him. He caught it easily in one hand and admired it.

"Ah yes, this is the old buffon's amulet. This should keep them all in line for a while. Your payment is in your old chambers, you may use them until I find you somewhere to stay in town."

"Thank you your majesty." I said with another boy, biting down bile I continued. "May I see my sister and mother?"

The emperor's smile vanished immediately. "And let you corrupt them? Your sister has barely reached her eighth year, and your mother wouldn't survive if she saw the despicable creature you had become. By all accounts Jonathan Ternac died when he left home years ago. If by any misfortune you should see them you will be called Jack Sentan. You will not reveal your true identity to them under any circumstances. I cannot allow your true identity to get out."

I understood the subtle threat he added at the end. With a final bow I returned to my childhood room, and as promised, placed on the trunk of the bed sat a large bag of gold, and a letter. I discarded my cloak on a chair in the corner, and looked at the letter.

"Jack Sentan" it read. I opened it up, and noticed my father's handwriting. Nervousness shout through me, but I read it anyway.

_Dear Jack._

_Congratulations on your first successful kill as my soldier, you have done a great service for this kingdom. Attached with this letter is your payment, 1000 imperial coins, to remind you that while you continue to obey me, you shall prosper._

He didn't need to add what would happen if I didn't.

_As we are both aware of the gifts you have inherited from me, I would like to personally invite you to train with me tomorrow afternoon. I have located wizards outside of the empire who are willing to teach you everything that they know. I look forward to seeing your first lesson._

_Your's truly_

_Emperor Ternac_

Ha! He had to hire wizards from outside the kingdom because he had executed all of them known within the Empire. Although the prospect of training still haunted me.

I had spent the majority of my life hoping that my powers didn't surface, that I wouldn't have to use my powers like my father did. Even from a young age, my father used his powers as punishment. In my home, we didn't need a whip.

I looked to the money carefully placed on the center of the trunk. It bulged at the sides, and was packed to the top full of imperial coins. I grabbed a handful for food and tied the rest to my leg. I threw a cloak back over myself and left.

Later that night, the orphanage in town found a large bag of gold in a carriage on their doorstep. Nobody knew who had left it.

Author's note- I tried to make the letter in a different font, and even found a really nice one that I wanted to use, but the website didn't allow it. Anyway it seems like you are really enjoying the story, and I am quite grateful for it. I enjoy writing these, and to see that you are enjoying them as well is great motivation. Thank you.


	9. Forbidden History

(Jack's POV)

I awoke quickly to the sound of a servant bustling through my room. She wasn't young but she tore through the room as if she were. The clothes I carried with me were quickly hung up, the clothes I had worn yesterday were already washed, and she had already laid out an outfit for me. A dark tunic with even darker pants, both of them cleaner than any clothes that I had worn since I had left home.

"Ah good, you're up. You have a big day ahead of you prince, better not waste it all in bed." She commanded. I rose quickly and allowed her to dress me, mostly for her benefit than mine.

"There you are. A sharp young lad. I would say fit for a king if your father wouldn't kill me for it." She chuckled.

Something about her reminded me of my mother, and I laughed along with her. "You don't have to call me prince." I told her "Call me Jack."

"Ah yes, that's what you're calling yourself nowadays. I still remember when you were a little boy and you used to hate when I dressed you up nice. You didn't like all of those fancy suits because you couldn't run around and play in them." She smiled at the memory. I couldn't help but smile too, I remembered her now.

"Eris?" I asked as her name appeared in my mind,

"Hmm?" She asked.

"How has my mother been, truly?"

She took a deep breath before saying. "Your leaving was hard on her. You were her pride and joy and shared the same contempt for the courts as she did. Once your sister got older she healed but, she still missed you."

I took a breath to steady myself. "How is she doing now?"

"Stable for the most part, but everyone knows not to mention your old name."

"Alright." She turned and picked something up off of the floor.

"Your father has decided that all of your old effects are to be returned to you now that you have completed your first… task." She said. I had noticed the clothes but she handed me a sword. The sword was elegant but plain, and bore the marks of recent use. The pommel was formed in the rough outline of a dragon, and realization shot through me. This was the sword of a captain of the guard. This was the sword I stole when I was in prison with… I couldn't say her name.

It had been a week since my father told me what happened to her, and even now the room turned cold. I was suddenly furious with the blade and threw it onto the bed. Alice probably let herself die rather than kill the men attacking her. She probably tried to subdue them rather than kill them, and they got to her. It was my fault that she was dead.

Over the week before I had been able to flee from any mention or thought of her existence. I could pretend that she didn't exist, and that it was just my imagination. The sword shattered my facade, and I saw the truth. I had killed her.

"Oh god." I whispered as I began to cry. Eris rushed over and held me as a mother would hold her child. She had no idea why I was crying, but hugged me anyway.

"I did it. I killed her." I confessed and began to cry even harder. I don't know why I was crying. I had barely known her, and I had killed a lot of people. Why did she get to be different?

"Shh, Shh." Eris whispered, as she rubbed her hands up and down my arms. "It's going to be all right."

It took a good thirty minutes for me to calm down. Eris brought my breakfast up to me, and a cup of hot tea. I sat down and explained to her what had happened in that prison, and what had happened after. Like a good audience she gasped in the right places, and murmured sympathetically in others. When I had finished she gave me another hug.

"You have had a hard life Jonathan Ternac. I wish it could tell you that it is going to get easier but it isn't. I can only tell you to use these experiences and become a better Emperor than your father. Although I do have good news. Today is your first day of training, so get on down there and show them what you're made of!"

I nodded tersely and made my way down to the gardens in the back, where a spot had been cleared. A circle had been cut into the grass about twenty feet in diameter. In this circe stood a large pile of lumber, and an aging man who wished to be anywhere but there.

I walked up to him and he nodded in recognition. He cast a wary glance at the Emperor who had managed to get a throne out here, and began to teach.

"Ah Jack. You must uh, you must be my student. Yes. Well uh-" He cast another glance at the Emperor who gave an impatient wave of his hand. "The uh, first thing you need to know about magic is that it is a destructive force. It is very powerful and should uh never be used by anyone who can't control it." He glanced up to the king who nodded appreciatively.

"The second thing to learn about magic is that it is a part of you, just as much as your arm or leg. It is by its nature an extension of itself." He seemed to get into a groove and speak with more confidence. As if he believed what he was saying more than what he said to begin with. "Once you locate that part of yourself you can use it just as easily as you can bend your fingers. Most witches and wizards are only granted control of a single element, although you and your father share a magic from what I can gather is free, and can be used in any way you see fit.

"The only other wizard with your kind of power was the Fannon Sleekwind-" I tensed up, he was speaking forbidden history. "-who in 203 was the first-" He was still talking when the arrow cut through his throat. coughing up blood he fell to the ground convulsed for a few seconds and died. I stepped away as red spread out and coated the grass.

My father materialized near me. He spoke in his dark and deep voice like iron grating along stone "If I had wanted a lesson in mythology I would have asked for it. It was through my great kindness that I allowed you into this empire, and you spit in my face. Hmpf. I suppose my son that we will have to find you a new tutor, a competent one."

I was still on edge from the quick merciless murder, but I still forced out "Thank you sir."

"In any sort I have found a new contract for you, and since you seem to dislike killing, this one should be more to your liking. You also get the opportunity to see a friend." I did not like where this was going. "Yesterday afternoon Alice Springhaven-" I tensed up again, she was dead. What was he playing at? "-escaped from the castle prisons at the fault of an incompetent guard. Your job is to hunt her down, but do not make contact with her. I want you to follow and document everyone she meets, everywhere she goes, and what she does. You are not to signal her, message her, or alert her in any way to your presence. I trust that I don't need to remind you what's at stake. Any questions?"

I was shocked, and I needed to know. "I thought she was dead."

"I knew that you cared for her more than you should, so I used her to force you to release your magic. I wanted to know if you would be a worthy heir and soldier." I could have killed him in that moment, but I muttered a quick "Then I will begin right now, sir." and walked off. I didn't even notice that the pile of lumber had ignited.

(Alice's POV)

The great castle loomed behind me as I walked through the streets of Vellhaven. Nobody looked at me twice as the thousands of people walked quickly to wherever they wanted to go. I walked by a store with delicious looking cakes in the window, and my stomach growled in response. I hadn't had anything good to eat in a week.

I quickly realized that I wasn't going to be able to get anything without any money. My stomach growled again and I knew that I was going to eat one of those cakes before sundown.

Scanning the crowd I saw no lack of wealthy individuals. Vellhaven was where you went when you were too wealthy for one of the smaller cities. Although the slums here were just as populated.

On this street only one beggar sat ignored pressed up against a wall. He held a small cup which was no doubt empty. The people in Vellhaven weren't prone to giving away money. I watched the poor boy sit there. He was ignored by everyone except for a particularly nasty looking noble with a disgusted sneer. He walked over to the boy and kicked the cup out of his hands. The cup banged against the ground with a clang, and just as I had expected there was nothing in it.

The noble snapped something at him, but the boy did nothing. He just sat quietly until the noble got bored and walked away. I followed after him. I faked being in a hurry and started to run. I sprinted as fast as I could until I collided with the noble's back. Before he could turn around a sharp burst of air cut his coin purse from his waist, and it fell into my hands. He turned around, already with a look of superiority across his face.

"Ah!" He snapped already pleased from my apparent lower class. "Go back to the slums girl, we don't want your kind begging on the street, stealing our hard earned money." I apologized profusely, and started running in the other direction. I heard a snort of satisfaction.

A minute later he grabbed his chest as suddenly his heart could no longer pump blood. He fell to the ground and died shortly thereafter. I smiled to myself, an unfortunate accident.

I rounded back to where the boy was still sitting, and dumped a majority of the noble's purse into his cup. He looked up his eyes sparkling.

"Th-Thank you miss. You are too kind." I smiled at him and went into the shop with the delicious looking cakes in the window.

After purchasing the most decadent chocolate cake I could find, I stepped out of the store. I already had a massive bite in my mouth when I heard a voice to my right.

"Not from around here?" It asked. I turned to see an a young man, no more than 25 years old looking at me.I forced myself to swallow, and answered. "No, how can you tell?"

He chuckled. "Well nobody who has enough money to give away does anything for the beggars on the street, and nobody who has lived here long enough enjoys those cakes as much as you do."

Color flooded my cheeks as I wiped a bit of chocolate off of my face.

"Where are you from?" He asked. I knew that this was a loaded question so I vaguely answered. "The Eastern Kingdom."

Recognition dawned on his face, and he quickly said "Can you come with me for a moment." He glanced out behind me, scanning the crowd. Then he ducked into an alley. I followed behind him as me had several twists and turns, and he even tore through a couple of alleyways that we had already been through, before leading me to an old door and shoving me through.

We emerged in a dimly lit room, with several people sitting around a table. On the table sat a map of the Empire, although on closer inspection it still had the names of the old Kingdoms. This was a map before the Emperor took over.

"I think we lost him." He said.

"Lost who?" I asked confused.

"Your tail. He was good, but I saw him. A dark haired boy who looked like he was buying something, but kept turning his head to look at you."

A dark haired boy, no, it couldn't be.

"You must be important to have a tale. Now tell me what is your name?"

I flashed back to the prison, but I answered as honestly as I could. "My name is Alice Springhaven." Every head in the room turned to look at me, one head in particular that I thought I would never see again. The Queen of Spera. My mother.

Realization dawned on her face, but I quickly shook my head. I didn't want them to know who I truly was. She nodded.

The man who guided me her shook his head in disbelief. "The witch? No wonder the Emperor is so keen on finding you. Although the stories say that you are a ruthless killer. We cannot have you here, you are too unpredictable."

An aging man that I had never seen before snapped at him. "Bite your tongue Ashryver, she may be our only hope to rival the Emperor's power powers. "

Ashryver looked back at him intensely. "Wesely, I will not put our queen in danger just because you think that we have a chance."

Wesely looked to my mother. "Queen Alena, what say you?"

She looked at me and smiled the smile that had haunted my dreams for a decade. The smile that used to lull me to sleep and calm me when I had nightmares. "I trust her. We should giver her a chance." She said in a voice filled with such authority that no one dare question her, but also so much kindness that anyone who listened knew that it was the right decision. That was the true voice of a queen.

Ashryver grudgingly looked to me and said "Well according to your Queen you are now in, if you are willing."

I found my voice and said "I am willing."

Queen Alena stood up and said. "Then by my authority, welcome to the Band of Spera."

Author's Note- I uploaded two stories tonight because I originally wanted to write this chapter, but needed the previous one to provide context. I quickly wrote the previous one and immediately got to work on this one. I hope you enjoyed. Thank you for reading.


	10. Queen of Spera

(Alice's POV)

Queen Alena motioned for me to follow her, and she led me out into the streets. We worked our way through the alley and into the main street, where so many people were moving and shouting that we couldn't possibly be overheard.

"Aliendra." My mother said, I winced at the name. " I want you to know that I am sorry."

"For what?" I asked. She hadn't gone on a ferocious killing spree, what did she have to apologize for.

"For leaving you. I let him convince you that you killed your father and I, and allowed him to force you into hiding. At such a young age that must have been so very difficult for you, and I am sorry."

"It's fine, even though I didn't handle it with as much grace as you would have." I said edging close to what I had been doing the past decade.

To my surprise she laughed. "Ah yes, Alice Springhaven. It's a pretty name, and do not be afraid. I do not judge you for what you did, we all do what we must to survive." The captain of the guard in Ber'Check screaming in agony flashed through my mind, but I did not press it further.

"If I may ask, why are you in the capital city? It seems like a dangerous place for you to be." My mother asked me.

I briefly recounted what had happened in the prisons of Ber'Check, and how I had let Jack die. I also told her about my interrogation, and the cogitatio vermis. She winced as I recounted having to relive those memories unwillingly.

"I really didn't do it for Spera. I just didn't want to see the Emperor get what he wanted again." I lied.

She saw straight through me. "Even still you have been very brave Aliendra. I can only wish that your father were here to see you now."

"What about father, did he survive?" I asked hopefully.

"No." She said and a shadow passed across her otherwise beautiful face. "He died immediately when the bolt struck him, I believe that the Emperor helped your magic to become far more deadly than you had intended."

"How did you survive?"

"To answer that, I will have to let you in on a secret that I have spent my whole life protecting. Back when the Empire was just beginning to form, and Ternac started his crusade to rid the world of all magic wielders, I felt that if he know that the Queen in Spera had powers equal to his own, he would not let it stand. I hoped that by concealing my power, he would pass up Spear in his grand conquest, it appears that I may have been mistaken."

"You have magic?" I presse. I quickly glanced around to assure that nobody had heard me. To my satisfaction it appeared that two women dressed in peasant clothing were beneath the concerns of the nobility.

"Yes, and your bolt did almost nothing to me that night. I knew that if I were to rise again, the Emperor would have struck me down with his full power, and I would not be alive today."

"Then it's a good thing that you went into hiding. If he knew you were alive he would hunt you with every power he had at his disposal."

"That is true, but I still stood idly by while he burned my kingdom and executed my people. The remainder of my court call me their queen but I do not deserve that title. Not anymore." Something new passed across her face, guilt, shame. "I passed off my title a long time ago. So it is great pride that I name thee, Aliendra queen of Spera." She took an elaborate bow.

"No I am not the queen. I can't be queen I would be a very bad queen. You can't make me be queen."

"After what you endured for your people at the hands of the Emperor himself, a peasant would have been worthy of being called queen. You proved yourself past even the greatest rulers in this land. I can see none more worthy."

The weight of the crown fell upon me, and it was too much to bear. I couldn't bear the thought of ruling people, having them rely on me. Feeling pain to save them was one thing, actually leading them, having them rely on me was another entirely.

"I can't do it. I can't be responsible for so many people. I can't be the one that lets them down. They're already in a pretty bad spot, they don't need me to make it worse."

My mother nodded, but continued to attempt to persuade me. "Well I will let you make your decision after you meet the remainder of your court. You already met Ashryver, he was my captain of the guard before spera fell so he's a bit conscientious about security. Wesely was there before even I took the throne. He knows more about running a kingdom than I do." She continued to talk until we rounded back into the alley and entered the ruined hideout.

Once we entered I counted the men and women surrounding the table. Six. Six remained of the court of thirty in Spera. Only six had survived. Once we entered everyone bowed to my mother.

Ashryver spoke first. "My queen if you truly believe we can trust Alice Springhaven, then we are behind you."

My mother replied. "This young woman is not in fact Alice Springhaven." She placed a hand upon my shoulder. "She is Aliendra, my daughter."

Everyone in the room looked as if they had received the greatest gift in their lives. They stumbled over each other trying to bow to me, shake my hand, anything. A woman with red hair tried to give me her amulet which I politely declined, and once they had all calmed down my mother spoke again.

"I have also decided that my final act as queen will be to relinquish the throne." The room erupted at this, but they all silenced when my mother held up her hand. "I have abandoned my people in their hour of need, and have done nothing to make up for that. My daughter however suffered in prison undergoing torture to preserve what is left of Spera. She was burned and broken but still stood strong. Even I would not have been able to do what she had done."

I turned to my mother and whispered. "I still haven't accepted."

She smiled sadly and whispered back. "I never got a choice and neither do you. It is the life we have to lead. Too many people are depending upon us for us to choose ourselves. In that cell you chose your kingdom. Now greet your people."

I turned to face the room, and everyone was bowing- to me. The woman with red hair loudly said. "Then it is our honor to be the first to say, long live Aliendra queen of Spera!"

The rest of the room joined in.

"Long live Aliendra, Queen of Spera."

(Jack's POV)

I watched from the shadows as Alice stood walking with some tall elegant woman, that somehow made the rags she was wearing look like a gown. I looked to her face, and the sharp features looked familiar somehow. She had Alice's brown hair, her slightly sharpened nose, and high cheekbones. Even past their similarities, something about the woman was very familiar. I had seen her before.

My jaw dropped, and suddenly it made sense. I knew where I had seen the woman before. The night before the Eastern Kingdom was annexed I had visited a castle with my father. I ate with the royal family at mealtimes, and in between I played out in the yard with their daughter. Their daughter Aliendra, with her brown hair, slightly sharpened nose, and high cheekbones. I was looking at the remnants of the court of Spera.

It all began to make sense. No wonder my father was so keen on me gathering information on her, he knows who she is. He wanted me to lead him to the remainder of her court so he could squash the remaining resistance. Well I wouldn't sacrifice her again.

He used her against me, I'll use her against him.

I crept along the shadows and, when they ran dry, the rooftops following the royal family of Spera back to their hideout. They walked for several miles merely just talking, and it grew strenuous just watching them turn corner after corner. Finally they turned into an alley, and dropping down, I saw an old ruined door.

From inside I heard a chorus of voices shout "Long live Aliendra, Queen of Spera." I pushed gently on the door, and was pulled inside and had a knife to my throat before I could blink.

A young man with white hair held me up against the wall, and stood calm waiting for the order. This was a truly devoted soldier unlike the drafted farmers of the empire. I glanced to the right at Alice who seemed dumbfounded.

"That's not possible." She said. "You're dead. I killed you." Wait she thought that she had killed me? Perhaps I had gotten through to her after all.

"Funny, I could've said the same thing about you." I replied. The white haired man pressed the dagger tighter to my throat.

"Are you threatening my queen?" He asked threateningly. I had a feeling that any answer other than "no" would get my throat cut.

"Calm down Ashryver, I know him. He's Jack Sentan, the assassin."

Ashryver did not release his hold on me. "That doesn't make it better. That in no way makes it better." He did finally release me though. "Any sudden moves and I will cut you down where you stand." I believed him.

The old queen spoke first. "So it seems that the Emperor has played you both for fools."

An old man in the back said "What is this? Two of the most famous criminals in the empire start beating down our doors. Ha, it's our lucky day."

The old queen spoke again, and everyone silenced. "Aliendra get behind me, you have been played for a fool again. Not by the emperor this time, but by his son. He is somehow walking free after you both were captured, I find that kind of suspicious. Captain, tie him up and place him in the basement. Until we know what he is her for he does not walk free. We cannot place the queen in danger."

The white haired man said "Yes Ma'am." and everything went dark.

Author's note- Most of the secrets have been revealed in this chapter, so I believe it is time to make some more. There are a few unanswered questions that still remain, but I will save those for another time. I also think that this may be the first chapter that nobody has died in, and as far as stories go that is kind of depressing. Thank you for reading my story.


	11. I Am Not Okay With This

(Jack's POV)

I was carried to the basement where the white haired man tightly tied to me to a chair. It seemed as if he restrained himself from tightening it to the point of physical pain. The man went to stand in the corner, and Alice strode in flanked by her mother.

Even in the dusty room the difference was becoming easier to notice. The way Alice walked was heavy, as if she were trying to take up as little space as possible. The old queen walked as royalty should, a head held high, but in no way superior. Despite myself I felt the urge to bow.

It was impossible to read Alice's face as she looked at me. I couldn't tell if she felt relieved, betrayed, or just indifferent. I may have made no impact on her whatsoever.

I had been interrogated before, it was one of the first things done to me at the assassin's keep. They tied me to a chair and I underwent the most painful tortures imaginable, and only after I had survived each and every one was I allowed in. I didn't get much choice in the matter though. If I failed, then I died.

"You don't need to torture me, I'll talk." I promised. The white haired man in the back started laughing.

"You're too used to your imperial prisons. We don't torture people in Spera. The ropes are just to protect the queen until we derive your true intentions." He said. I was slightly shocked at his word choice, it seemed that the soldiers in Spera were educated. They weren't bred to be ferocious brutes.

"What is your true name?" The old queen asked. I could have sworn that Alice winced at this question, but when I looked further I could see nothing. Maybe I had imagined it.

"Around the world I am known as Jack Sentan, but to my father I am known as Jonathan Ternac."

"Why were you following my queen?" The man in the back asked.

"Emperor Ternac ordered that she be followed but not approached. I didn't know why, but now I do. He knows who you are Aliendra."

She winced again before quietly saying "My name is Alice."

"What allegiance do you owe the Emperor?" The man asked again.

"He told me that if I failed any task he set to me, then he would kill my mother and sister."

"He would kill his own family to keep you in line. That is just sick." The man replied.

The old queen responded to him. "But not out of character. He refused to speak to me whenever I would hold court. He believes women to be lesser than men in all regards. He may be begging for the excuse to rid his family tree of them."

"What kind of woman would marry such a man?" Alice asked.

"A woman with no choice!" I snapped back. My mother used to tell stories, when she thought that my father couldn't hear, of how he rode into her village and handpicked her. They were married that evening and she was pregnant the next morning. He had hardly even spoken to her.

Everyone in the dusty destroyed basement was silent for another moment.

"Can I ask a question?" I asked to nobody in particular.

"Of course." The old queen replied.

"Can I talk to Alice, alone for a moment?" Alice looked up, and at the white haired man. He nodded. The old queen and the white haired man got up to leave, and white haired man pausing to slip something into Alice's hands before exiting.

Alice and I stood in silence before about a minute before she quietly said.

"I missed you. I really thought it was my fault that you, well when I thought that you were dead."

"I missed you too, and I thought that you died because you didn't want to fight back with magic."

She laughed. "I agree that I should cut back on the ruthless killings, but I will still do everything to stay alive."

"I'm glad… I have something to show you." I fought with my arm until my palm was facing out towards her, the rope cutting into my wrist. I stared at my palm and focused as hard as I could possibly manage. Deep within me a power shifted, and I stretched it out to my palm, and lit a small ball of fire. It wasn't very bright, but it hung suspended there like a little sun. Keeping it lit was wearing on me, and I soon found that keeping the magic focused was difficult. It began to expand and contract unpredictably. I stretched it towards her begging her to take it, she stretched out a finger to touch it. As her finger neared closer the ball became more sporadic

It opened. It closed. It threatened to burn the world. It threatened to pop out of existence. As she grew closer the .little sun grew golden bright. Then she touched it.

The world popped out of existence, replaced by a blinding light that burned through my closed eyes. I imagined that there was a terrible heat, but the world felt cool. Then a splitting headache tore through my skull. It felt like the boundaries of my mind were being forcibly torn away. I screamed in agony, and another voice joined in. A female voice shouted the chorus of suffering.

Our pain became a harmony as our voices mingled with each other and created the voice of hell. A perfection of torture. Finally after what may have been seconds, or may have been days the light ceased. I was able to open my eyes to the destruction in the room.

Every thing that could have been burned was, and the building was only barely standing. Alice and I were sprawled out on the ground, the pain too much for us to bear standing up.

I got up and thought _We need to get out of here before this place crumbles._

A voice joined me and I heard Alice say _Agreed_

That's funny, I don't remember talking aloud. We quickly sprinted up the stairs that practically crumbled beneath our feet. At the top, a pile of rubble separated us from the main room.

_Allow me_ I said to Alice. I stepped up to the conjoinment of burnt logs, and reached deep inside of myself. Somehow I knew exactly where the power was and how to use it. I focused on the logs, and imagined them burning to cinders. No sooner had I thought it than the logs unanimous exploded into pieces too small for the eye to see. A bang immediately followed this so loud that I reached up to cover my ears. I didn't know I had that much power. I just had trouble creating a ball of light.

I turned to Alice who looked equally surprised, but gave me a short round of applause. We looked through the dust to see the queen standing back holding her hands up menacingly. The white haired man was standing close to the doorway with an axe, as if he was trying to break through the rubble. Everyone else was standing in the back looking nervous, not for themselves. Not one of them had left the building when it had been burning. This was a truly loyal court.

The white haired man looked at us and asked "Are you okay?"

_Yeah_, I heard Alice say. _A little shaken up but fine_.

_I don't know how much you care, but same here_ I said. _I don't know what happened._

The white haired man, _His name is Ashryver_ Alice said to me. I didn't know how she knew what I was thinking, it must be a girl thing. Ashryver looked at both of us waiting for a response.

"Dear lord they must be in shock!" An old woman shouted from the back of the room.

_I'm not in shock I_- I had turned to look at Alice and I realized. Her lips weren't moving. She was talking, and I could hear her, but she wasn't moving her lips.

_Oh no, I am not okay with this_. I thought _Alice! Can you hear me!_

She winced as if in pain and shouted back _You don't need to shout! Oh. You can hear me right now?_

_Every word_. I responded

_I hope he doesn't see, oh no._ A brief series of images I was never meant to see flashed through my head, and color rose to my cheeks. I tried to stop images of my own from reaching her, but hair pale skin turned a bright shade of scarlet.

_Well I suppose privacy is out of the window until we fix this._

She finally spoke aloud "I am not okay with this." Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief, each one wondering what had happened in that room.

The old queen stepped forward and wrapped Alice in a tight embrace. Although she leapt back as if burned."Oh." She simply said. "Oh." She stepped back and surveyed her daughter, and then she looked at me, and just looked contemplative for a moment. After a few seconds her face became a mask of acceptance, and she turned to face her court.

"I suggest all of you turn away, to preserve my daughter's modesty."

_Wait What_? I heard Alice ask in my head.

_I have no idea what's going on,_ I responded.

After the court had turned away, I made to do the same thing but Alena stopped me. "Jack, you'll want to see this."

_Like hell he will,_ Alice snapped. She then turned to look at me _Sorry, well this whole no privacy thing starts now I guess. I cannot wait until we fix this._

"Aliendra, could you please turn around and remove your shirt." Alice complied and I caught myself admiring her back back which earned a short mental grown from her. It looked completely normal until a glowing mark appeared directly below her right shoulder. It looked like a cross with two diagonal intersections cutting through it, and seemed to be burned into the skin.

"You may put your shirt back on. Jack would you please do the same." I heard a contented purr from Alice and I sent her a sharp snap which sent her giggling.

I peeled off my tunic and held it high above my head. Alice sent me an image of my back and in had the same mark in the same place. A flaming cross with two diagonal intersections.

I turned around to a thoughtful Alena. "Well this just got complicated."

Author's note- This was not supposed to happen, but it worked and can provide a framework for the rest of the story to build off of. I hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading. Side-note I have to manually go in and italicize everything that Alice and Jack say to each other, after I upload the story. So if the chapters grow to be a little shorter it is just to cut down on the amount of editing that goes into the story before it is finally published. (Yes, the chapters full of spelling errors are the edited versions).


	12. Will you Kill Again, Assassin?

(Alice's POV)

I didn't understand what was going on. Why do Jack and I have the same symbols on our backs. Why could he hear my thoughts? What strange magic was at work here.

"They are compatible." My mother said.

Jack finally spoke aloud. "What does that mean?"

"It is a very rare condition. Like a magnet attracts metal, your magic called to Aliendra's" My name is Alice.

Jack shot me an understanding look, and turned back to my mother.

"Your powers intertwined and became one. You noticed that you fire was far more powerful now, and Aliendra you may notice the same thing. You no longer have your own power, you share the same pool between you. I'm assuming that you can hear her thoughts."

"Yes." I answered for him. Okay we are getting close to how we fix this.

"How do we fix this?" Jack asked for me.

My mother looked solemn for a moment before saying. "You don't. Your power is now one, the only way to separate you is through death, and that would drive the living partner insane."

I looked to Jack, and tried to picture him dead, but for some reason I couldn't. Instead I felt an incomprehensible level of loss. My mother was right. We were connected.

_I look good, even when dead_. Jack joked..

Don't even joke about that. I snapped. I couldn't think about it for a second longer.

"So what now?" Ashryver asked. "Are we going to send the Emperor's son back with a link to the most actively hunted girl in the empire. Forgive me for saying that that sounds like a terrible idea."

My mother held up a hand. "Calm down Ashryver. The link did more than anyone may possibly know. I get the feeling that Jack would rather cut out his own heart than hurt Alice at this point."

_She's right_ Jack said, and I knew he was telling the truth.

"I still don't understand." A woman with red hair in the back said. "How deep does this link go?"

My mother walked over to me. "Well Wendelyn I hope this is enough explanation." She motioned to me. "I'd like you to meet Jack." She walked over to Jack and motioned to him "I'd like you to meet Aliendra. By all accounts they are the same person now."

"By the gods I didn't know that this was possible." Wesely said.

"It's rare certainly. Very rare. I can only think of one account historically of this happening, and even then their names were lost through time. It furthered their loss even still when the Emperor started burning everything related to magic." An image flashed in my head of eyes not my own. A boy overlooking his father as he ordered mounds of books be thrown into the fire. The pyre was dozens of feet tall, and throughout the pile outlines of corpses could be found.

"It certainly makes it harder." I agreed verbally. "So what do we do now?"

"Well earlier you became queen of a fallen nation, but this changes things somewhat." My mother declared. "You will have to talk with Jack and declare your allegiance. You and Jack must be in complete agreement or else you will find yourselves drifting from your goals. We will leave you alone to talk. Wesely, Ashryver, I want you two to find us somewhere else to live." They left the room still talking about the specifics, and shut the door behind them. Jack and I were alone.

_I think that went well_, Jack said. I snorted.

_Yeah, couldn't have gone better. Now I have an assassin talking in my head._

_You should talk to someone about that, you're sounding kind of crazy._ I laughed and Jack joined in.

_Oh we will never be normal now._ I stated.

_Apparently not. So what do you want to do about this whole 'declare your allegiance!' thing._

_Well I am a queen and I have people to serve. Also I will never serve your father after what he did._

_I agree with you there but I don't have a choice._ He opened up and allowed his fear and anguish to flood into me. I saw an older woman whom I immediately identified as his mother, and a young girl that seemed slightly more blurry whom I realized to be his sister. A sister that he had never met.

I realized the true extent of his desperation. A wave of shame over the man he killed surged through me, and resentment for his overbearing father. This truly was Jack, behind the jokes, and "I don't care" exterior.

_How do you handle that everyday_? I asked.

_I don't have a choice. I do what I can to stay alive._

_Will you still kill for your father_ I asked. A wave of shame that wasn't my own coursed through me as an image of a old man lying unearthly still in a bed burned away all other images. The remnants of a scream still plastered on his lips, reaching out for help that will never come.

_I can't, not again. He was a good man, especially for being a lord. I can't keep on like this_. He swore.

_So what will you do if he asks you to kill again?_

_ARGH I don't know! It seems that I'll be killing someone either way. If I fail my family dies, and if I succeed… I don't know what to do_. Desperation fell from him in waves, and I hated to see him like this. I hated that he had to endure this moral agony every day. Most of all, I hated the emperor for putting us in this situation.

_What if you pretended to kill his targets, but simply faked their deaths. I'm sure that once they are told that the Emperor is hunting them, they'll do everything they can to save their own lives. You can do that until we find a way to hide your family where your father can't hurt them._

A new feeling flew through Jack, one that I found myself sharing. Relief and Hope, although I forced myself to cut off from his feelings. They were his to enjoy, not mine.

_Thank you Alie- Alice_. I hummed my gratitude.

_So that's our plan, our we ready to declare our support for Spera?_ I asked.

_It seems like our best choice right now._

_Alright, well I'll call in the others_. I opened the door, where my mother and a few members of the court were standing around quietly talking in hushed tones. The court appeared to be angry, and my mother seemed fearful. This was not as it should be, but I ignored it.

"We've made our decision." I declared. I motioned for them to enter the ruined home, but they remained still. My mother cast one final look at her court, and the red haired woman cocked her head threateningly. My mother paled, and then they all entered shutting the door behind them audibly.

"Well, I just want you to know that I won't judge you for whatever you've chosen. If you want to preserve yourselves and work for the Emperor that is fine with me. I will respect your decisions." I looked to Jack, who for some reason looked jealous. The phrase unconditional love drifted towards me.

"We've decided to serve the remnants of Spera." Jack stated. "We will do whatever we can to remove the Emperor from the throne. No matter the cost." His face hardened and I realized. This wasn't a son talking about his father. This was a subject talking about a tyrant. Jack had been the closest to the Emperor as he tore through the surrounding Kingdoms murdering his way to the throne. Jack had watched it all happen, and was forced to obey any command given to him. That was too much for any child to endure. I was starting to see why he had run away.

My mother looked pleased, and relief coursed through her face, but also fear. She knew what the dangers were of choosing this life. "Well I cannot say that I am suprised. Have you discussed what will happen when Jack returns to the Emperor tonight?"

"No he will not be returning tonight!" A man in the court declared. "No matter your talk of the "link" changing him, and the devotion he feels toward Alice. I will not have a Ternac return to his father after he has seen all of our faces."

"I agree, I feel that as soon as Ashryver returns we execute him." Another voice said. The thought of Jack being killed by these bureaucrats sent me too the edge. My vision turned bright red as ice cold fury plunged deep inside of me. Every member of the court paled and began to back away, my mother stood still looking defeated. The court had done that to her, I was dangerously close to tearing each of them apart one by one.

I felt Jack brush up against my mind and I let him in. Just as a torch would melt ice, his presence melted the rage eating away at me begging me to kill them. I calmed slowly but steadily, and soon I was completely at peace. I felt him melt away, but stay close.

My mother laughed, a heavy pained laugh but a laugh nonetheless. "I feel as if your queen has made her position known on this topic, and I feel as if you should heed her guidance." I snorted but felt satisfied that I had such an effect. The weight of my imaginary crown still pressed down harder than I could bear,but I liked being able to protect Jack.

"I have a feeling that if you threatened to kill Aliendra, Jack would react similarly. Sending him into the arms of our enemies is not an act dangerous for us, it is an act dangerous for him. He is willing to risk himself to help further your cause, I suggest not trying execute him." My mother finished. I felt a rush of gratitude to the fallen queen.

The court grumbled their approval, but cast furious looks at the queen. This was not normal, and I began to see it more and more with every second. I didn't know what was going on, but I was going to get to the bottom of it. A few hours ago she was their queen, why were they acting so cold to her?

Jack seemed to be sharing my sentiment, and cast a worried look in my direction. Just then Ashryver and Wesely opened the door and shut it silently. Every member of the court did their best to look loyal, just as I had seen when I had first met them. Ashryver and Wesely seemed to be out of their control, and had enough power to take them down. I still didn't understand the situation, but it was becoming clearer to me every second.

"Ahem. We have found several apartments in the upper side of town that the owner was willing to sell to us. Although we will need a large sum of Imperial gold, does anyone know where we can find that kind of cash?" Ashryver asked.

"Whenever I complete a contract for my dad, I get paid enough to buy a village. After giving false reports on Alice I should have enough to get you your apartments."

Ashryver seemed stunned but quickly collected himself. "You're a good man Jack."

"Well then we all know our plans, now all that we can hope is that nothing goes wrong." Something about the entire situation felt off. I couldn't put my finger on it but something wasn't right, it was all happening too easily. There was also the manner in which my mother was treated by the minor members of the court, it was as if they were superior to her. As the cloud of my emotions thickened only one remained dominant of the rest: fear.

Author's note- I wrote a large portion of this in the morning, so if the writing style is a bit off it may be that. Anyway I am greatly enjoying the build up to a very dramatic moment that will change the nature of this story entirely. It's going to be awesome. (That may be my author's bias leaking through right there) Thank you for reading.


	13. You've Killed Him

(Jack's POV)

I stepped into the streets as the first morning light illuminated the sleeping districts. Shopkeepers were just beginning to place goods on shelves and open doors. The dunkards were finding their ways home, and the unsuccessful harlots walked dejectedly back to whatever hole they crawled out of.

The business of the street mocked me as what I was about to do loomed over me, like a storm cloud threatening to strike. As I walked to the great castle which suddenly seemed darker and more ominous, I couldn't help but stare at the people I passed.

I could have been you! I thought looking at a mildly happy shopkeeper preparing to sell Jewels to the wealthy nobles that frequented higher streets like this. You don't have to lie to the emperor who may easily cut your head off if he found out.

Alice jumped into my mind, and it felt as if she were walking beside me. Her presence seemed to fill me with strength, and I hastened my walk. _There is nothing good that can come out of thoughts like that._ She said and the truth in her words was self-evident. There was no use wishing and wanting for impossible realities. I had only my life to lead, and I could make it what I wanted._ Just focus on the people you are trying to protect, the slaves you will free, the people who depend on you for their freedom._

_Yeah? How did rampaging through the countryside blasting at anything with a pulse help to defend your people._ I snapped unnecessarily harsh. I regretted it as soon as I thought it. The wave of self-loathing that ebbed off of her even as she tried to prevent it was overwhelming. I didn't even think that with every kill she was tearing a piece of her soul and burning it with them. The true weight of what she had done pressed down on her as much as the crown that she was never given a choice if she wanted to wear. I remember the little girls that ran through the castle screaming that they wanted to be a princess, I only now see how much weight that crown carries.

_I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I see now how much you regret it._

She snorted but even through our link I could tell that she was crying. _Of course you meant it. The funny thing about our mind link is that we don't have a filter. Anything that you think, even for a moment, I hear. So don't lie me. I can feel your anger and disgust when you talk about the innocent people I killed, and you believed that I felt no remorse. That I didn't see the thousands of faces that will never smile again before I sleep. That I don't dream about them._

I ducked into an alley as my vision blurred away, replaced by the dull, blurred, reality of dreams.

I stood alone, surrounded by fire. Everywhere that I looked was either still burning or smoldering wreckage and I knew that I had caused it. Surrounding me were faceless bodies, each one distorted or contorted in extreme pain, but I couldn't help them. Nobody could help them now.

Slowly one by one the faces fell into shape, and they began to rise from their permanent bodies stood up, and stared, they did nothing but stare. Thousands of men and women rose to bear witness to their murderer, faces a mix of rage and agony. All of them aware of what I had done to them. A few children pushed their way to the front of the crowd and frowned.

I looked at all of them and tried to speak but I couldn't find my voice. I tried to move my legs but I remained rooted in place. Silently watching my victims. The crowd in front of me parted to reveal a graceful women gliding forward as if on air, carrying a body over her shoulder. She walked forward a white silk dress billowing around her, and a crown rested comfortably on her head, as if she had been born wearing it. She stopped a few feet from me, and allowed the body to fall. It hit the ground and rolled to face me.

My father, immortalized in agony. His face contorted in only the way that the dying can. The last hints of betrayal still on his face. He did not rise as the others did, he merely lay, accusing me of my crimes. I looked back up to see my mother's face, grief etched across every feature. A perfect pain that I could never emulate.

"You've killed him." She said softly. An accusation, filled with the deepest mourning. She didn't sound angry or betrayed, she didn't need to. I knew that I was responsible, what I had done. Then without a word more, my mother turned and walked away. The crowd of my dead parting to let her through one last time, leaving me alone with the pain that I wrought.

The alley reformed as her dreams faded. I was briefly disoriented as I adjusted to my own eyes. Alice remained with me the entire time, watching as well as I. I could only sit speechless as her suffering and guilt continued to wash over me, drowning out everything else.

_How do you live with yourself every day?_ It wasn't an insult, not after what she felt.

_I do what I can to survive. Look, you're about to go lie to the most powerful man in the empire, let's focus on that. We can talk about this later._ She said, although I felt that she had no intention of bringing this up again.

I walked in silence, and apprehension for what I was about to do settled in once more, although it was nothing compared to what Alice was feeling. I silently reprimanded myself, preventing even Alice from hearing it, and continued on.

I reached the gates of the castle and the guards silently let me in. They knew who I was, or at least what I did for the emperor. I smiled smugly at their concealed fear when they looked at me, to them I was a vengeful force that couldn't be stopped. I threw open the doors to the main hall, and a strange sight awaited me.

My father was arguing with a noble, and wasn't calling to have him hanged. The noble snapped something and gestured to my father's chest, and my father grew even more furious. He whispered something, and the noble nodded. He walked away solemnly and my father stomped back to the throne room, throwing the doors open widely in his wake. He didn't even notice me.

I followed him through the doors as he threw himself down upon his golden throne, and looked at me. It may have been my imagination but he looked bigger. His body seemed to take up the entire throne as he looked down upon me. If he was surprised at my presences he didn't show it, he just waved for me to give my report. I had practiced most of the night and the words fell easily off of my lips when I began.

"Alice has been conspiring with a group of rebels against the empire."

The emperor sat up in his seat and looked far more interested, and impressed.

"She has located and begun operation s with a group from the western kingdom operating here in Vellhaven. I have located and eliminated their stronghold, and disposed of the bodies. Although Alice escaped before I could deal with her."

"I have to admit my son-" Ever since I had proven my worth by completing his first assignment, he has had no problem calling me his son. "-you have impressed me. I gave you this assignment to see where your true loyalties lie, and you have passed my test. I have a large contract that I would like you to take out, but first there is a problem I wish for you to deal with. I have received reports of a growing rebel movement in the north that I wish for you to assess, and if possible eliminate. I cannot allow these insurgents to destabilize my empire. Your payment is in your chambers, and I heavily insist that you begin searching for a home outside of this castle. The amount of effort that goes into making sure that you never see your mother and sister is incomprehensible."

Taking that as dismissal, I bowed and turned to walk away. I made it to the door and relief was coursing through me when he spoke again.

"And son, next time you go lusting after a girl, make sure that she is of noble blood."

_Please kill him_ Alice spoke in the back of my mind.

"If you must take a woman under your care, please be sure that she is bringing a name and wealth to your kingdom. I cannot begin to feel the shame if you were to marry a filthy peasant."

_Don't kill him. Tear him to pieces but leave him alive_. I bowed once more and said "Yes father." and left.

_I can't just kill my father, he's too powerful_. I told Alice.

_Don't care_. She huffed_ I'll show him my noble blood if he shows me his, preferably spilling out of a stab wound._

I smiled at that. _Now a fight between you two I would pay to see._

Shame and self-loathing passed through her again, and I knew that they had faced off at some point, and she had done something she hated herself for. Sharing her mind was not as unpleasant as originally believed, but there was still a lot for me to learn.


	14. A New Adventure

(Alice's POV)

Ashryver and my mother were arguing but I wasn't paying much attention. I could only think about Jack going up to the northern kingdom, the trip would take months, and for some reason staying away for that long seemed impossible. I glanced up at my mother, only to see desperation flash across her face, although it happened so fast I thought I had imagined it. She stormed through the halfway broken door frame and into the city. Ashryver shook his head before walking down to the destroyed basement. I followed the young man down and saw him unroll a map on the remains of a table. It seemed to be a map of the empire, but unlike any maps that I had seen before.

This map had chunks of each kingdom cut away as if they no longer belonged to the empire, I inched closer until I saw that each piece had a title. Glancing over to the remains of Spera, our chunk was small and insignificant compared to the others, but clearly marked in said "Speran Rebels."

"Your majesty." Ashryver said with a bow, noticing my nearness.

"Please don't call me that." I responded with slight irritation.

"Yes ma'am." He said obediently. Snapping to attention that would have been sarcastic had it been anybody else.

"That either." I snapped. He looked at me strangely, before he saw me analyze the map.

"This is a construction of our most recent reports." He gestured to the northern kingdom. "The northern rebels have seized the port city Tarn, and are moving quickly towards the capital. They are doing so well because the imperial soldiers are in Spera trying to crush any hope of rebellion there, although you can see that they are failing. Unfortunately our reports say that if the king were to ride out and greet the soldiers, there is no hope any of us can do to stop him."

"Do we know how the king can have such great power?" I asked, desperately trying to sound official, despite my determined disinterest in the crown.

"No, we don't. Your link with Jack has given… Alena some ideas, although we still don't know."

"Well what can I do to help?" I asked earnestly.

"I want you to travel north to the frost caves of Belmouth. It is rumoured that the lat of the ancient magic wielders retreated there when the emperor began his conquest. They may know something about how the emperor got to be so powerful so quickly. The caves had always been perilous but after the fall of the northern kingdom they have became almost certain death."

"And you're sending me there? Awesome, sounds great. Can I have some time to write my will? I want my ashes spread in all of the major kingdoms and have a large portion of them dumped on the emperor."

Ashryver was not amused. "My queen you are the most likely to survive. Your raw magic plus Jack's fire will make you immune to the effects any of the northern wizards could have on you. Then once you prove that you are not working for the emperor, they should probably stop trying to kill you."

"This keeps getting better and better. Fine, ask and ye shall receive." _I should learn to shut my mouth_ I heard something in the corner of my mind that sounded faintly like Jack laughing, I made a mental note to slap him later. "When do I leave?"

"Jack has his mission up in the northern kingdom, I suggest you leave when he does." How did he know about Jack's mission? The emperor had only just told him, and I haven't told anyone. He must have phenomenal spies to get information that quickly, although I didn't see anyone entering or exiting.

I turned and ran upstairs. I felt his presence before I saw him. Jack standing in the destroyed meeting room, a large bag of gold in his limp hand. I ran over throwing myself into his embrace, we had only been apart for a short while, but after the intimacy of mental contact it seemed like much longer.

_I'm coming with you on your journey north._ I told him.

_Weren't you always?_ He asked, and there was truth to his words. Regardless of whether or not I had received this mission, I would have gone with him.

_So what do you think we'll find up in the caves?_ He asked.

_I don't know. The ancient magic wielders are supposedly legend. I was brought up being taught that they exist, but they were no help when the emperor starting taking over._

_My father scared the most powerful race of witches this land has ever seen. It's kind of terrifying._

_Which makes it that much more important that we find out how he became so powerful and stop it._

_Using whatever means_ Jack thought determinedly. The other members of the court were still skeptical of Jack's devotion, but I knew that he was more determined to see his father torn from his throne than any of them.

_We leave tonight?_ He asked.

_Tonight_. I thought and the plan was set.

After Jack handed the bag of coins to Ashryver and he ran off to buy the apartment, Jack and I went to the shops to buy supplies for the trip. Jack walked determinedly through the streets not letting his attention sway to the nearby treats and trinkets. I was not so disciplined. I often ran from window to window gawking at the arrays of cakes, cookies, jewels, and clothes. Once the shopping trip was over my bag was three times the size of Jack's and I had a large chocolate cake in my hand.

I tore into it with little discretion, and allowed the blissful taste of chocolate to fill my mouth. Jack shot me an image of myself with my entire mouth, neck, and cheeks covered in chocolate.

_Your majesty_. He joked.

_Shut up_ I snapped back, but I cracked a smile. He was still laughing when we rounded the corner into the wealthy district.

_Ashryver said it was building twelve_. We searched around for a few minutes until we located an ornately decorated building with slanting stone roofs and wooden frames carved into delicate patterns. I knocked on the door and a little hatch slid open to reveal the white eyes of Ashryver, staring back at me.

I heard a lock click into place and the door swung open with a loud creek. I cringed at the sound but Jack seemed to be expecting no less. I stepped inside. A crystal chandelier hung suspended in the entryway, and polished wood floors flowed along the ground splitting into hallways and rooms. The main entryway led into a kitchen and wide living space. To the right sat an open room that used to have windows, before long elegant drapes were thrust over them blocking every ounce of light that begged to be let in.

I followed my mother to the left once, and then down a flight of stairs to a very large cellar. Wooden support beams held up the ceiling as we descended into the dark depths of what appeared to be a wine cellar. Cases and barrels lay discarded all over the floor and appeared to be completely ignored by the nobles all poring over a map. I didn't have to look to see that it was the same map as earlier.

Jack and I discarded our packs in the corner and walked over to the crowd. A few noticed me and bowed, they didn't glare at Jack so I suppose that was progress. I noticed a hand on my arm tugging me to back towards a corner, and turned back to see Ashryver pulling me and Jack as far away from the group as possible.

Once we were alone in the corner, Ashryver began to whisper furiously. "I am sure that you have noticed that some of the people here are not who they claim to be. Do not trust anyone, do not do anything that anyone in this room says except for your Alena and I." He cast a nervous glance over to the group still staring at the failing empire. "At best, they may be in it for themselves trying to secure a better position for themselves. At worst, they may be spies for the emperor, be careful."

"Thanks for the heads up." Jack said.

"On a happier note, I was able to get a room for you too. I wanted to get two but Alena said that you'd be happier with one. It's upstairs at the end of the hall, on your right."

We said thank you and then walked upstairs to find our room. My mother was right about us wanting to stay together. Last night we had started off on opposite sides of the room, but we ended up curled next to each other by the end of the night. It was nothing sexual, just comforting to be so close.

I pulled on the doorknob and it opened with the same ear splitting creek as the front door.

_It's so that you'll wake up if there's someone there. In the assassins keep every door sounded like a nail on cobblestone._ It was weird to hear Jack talk about the assassin's keep, he didn't say much about that part of his life.

The room opened up to chambers fit for a king. A large four poster bed sat in the middle of the room, and different arrangements or furniture dotted the surrounding area. I counted two desks, a dining table, four bookcases and a closet the size of a cottage. Attached was a large porcelain bathing chamber that I eyed greedily. I hadn't bathed truly in months, the dirt under my fingernails was now a permanent part of me.

_No_. Jack snapped _You are not leaving me here to organize the packs while you go relax in a bath._

I walked over and patted his cheek Remember, pack warm. Then I walked into the bathing chamber shedding clothes as I went. I felt Jack avert his eyes embarrassed, and I grinned to myself.

We left later that night, earning only a few hours of sleep before my mother stuck her head in and yelled that we only had a few hours before sunrise. Jack and I dressed in solemn silence, the comfort of a real home had been pleasant and neither of us were ready to leave quite yet, especially on a mission that would last several months.

I was clean, the outer layer of my skin scraped raw revealing a pinkish pale layer of skin. Jack had bathed after me and he had even cut his hair. His dark hair no longer hung in his face, but was cut back to a much more manageable length were it wouldn't obstruct his vision.

We easily slipped out of the city, and the sun was just beginning to break as the dark remnants of Vellhaven blurred into nonexistence. We walked silently, words neither thought nor spoken as the shadow of what we were about to do loomed over us. If this mission was a success we would have the tools we needed to defeat the emperor and destroy the empire.

It all felt closer than ever, and an image of myself upon the throne of Sopera flooded my thoughts. The crown kept shoving down and threatened to suffocate me.

Author's note- This chapter was an experiment regarding character. I wanted to see if building up different models for each character would help to develop them. Jack the ruthless assassin with skill, who is also a boy that has grown to resent his father. Also Alice the self-loathing witch that tore her way through the countryside, but is also just a regular girl. It seems to be working, but let me know what you think, I cannot separate myself from my author's bias.


	15. Frostrun

(Jack's POV)

The sun rose and set with little occurring between Alice and I. Our minds were temporarily our own, letting the true weight of what we were beginning to do wash over us. I could still feel Alice worrying about what would happen after the Emperor fell, I was still worried about if the emperor would fall. Night fell and, too exhausted to continue, we set up camp.

Alice walked out to gather wood for a fire, and I sorted through our supplies. Alice returned and dumped the sticks into a pile, which I lit with a flick of my wrist. The warmth was euphoric, and I suddenly realized how cold I truly was. I forced myself to dig through the suddenly freezing pack to locate a package of dried meat. I threw a few pieces to Alice and we ate our miserable dinner in silence. The ground uncomfortably cold and hard after the joyous experience of sleeping in a bed.

As the fire burned itself out, creatures looked towards us from the shadows. Creatures that appeared to be very apparitions from the darkness, but upon closer inspection they disappeared. I trudged back to the campsite, and threw myself down to the remains of the fire, not allowing myself to bemoan my current state. I threw a coat from the pack over myself, and curled up near Alice. Neither of us slept very well.

Thus began our routine. We said little, walked large distances, and slept. The days grew colder and more unbearable by the hour, and soon snow began to dot the landscape. At first it appeared in small clumps scattered around the landscape, with trees donning white masks to hide themselves. Then as the freezing days passed, soon the snow surrounded us completely. We could look in any direction and see only ice covering every surface. It was only through magic that we managed to get water to drink, or a fire started.

Still as we walked, the lack of other travelers baffled me. Normally caravans and farmers eager to purchase food would cover the main roads, but there was nobody at all. Not a single soul walked the roads along with us, which was a blessing in itself.

The days grew colder still, and the wind cut like daggers into our skin. We could hardly see a few feet in front of us, but the nights were worse. We could no longer find wood for a fire, so we kept ourselves alive by casting magic into the air to keep us alive. One night we tried to burn away the snow at our feet, but after a few feet the snow broke down to ice, and then to water, salt water. We were no longer walking on land, we were walking on a frozen sea.

Towards the end of our twenty-third day struggling for warmth, we stumbled upon a tent remaining steadfast despite the storm. It was simple, just a tan tan nailed into the ice by a few wooden practically threw herself into it, and it was all that I could do not to do the same. I emerged in the tent and the blissful feeling of heat grabbed me. The permanent numbness in my fingers and toes screamed in agony, but soon retreated.

After we had warmed ourselves, we adjusted our eyes to look at the rest of the tent. Three armed men stood brandishing swords and pikes at us, each standing around a table with a large map of the empire prominently displayed; the revised map with sections cut out for rebel conquests. The heat was coming from several overly large candles placed on the edge of the table, and we drank their warmth like a dying man. The central soldier stood with his sword at his side, a cocky demeanor to his persona. He stood tall with his hands behind his back, and looked at us each in turn. He had close cut hair and a strong jawline the looked tough but not cruel.

He was a general judging from his attire, and he didn't look too surprised to see us. He turned to his soldiers and barked an order. "At ease soldier, if they had been here to kill us they would have done something by now other than stare at our candles. Instead of shoving weapons in their face, let us ask them why they are here. Now, why are you two in Tarn?"

Recognition dawned on our faces, and I looked to inspect their uniforms. Pale white with an image of a shield depicted solidly on the surface. The mark of Frostrun the old northern kingdom.

"W...w...w….w" I cursed my chattering teeth. "e ha...ha….have been traveling north. To es...es...escape the empire." Alice finished.

"A worthy goal." The general. "One you should find beneficial only to yourselves, we are working to liberate the people from the clutches of the empire. You two seem fit and fast, and the cause would be furthered greatly if you were to lend yourself to our cause. I would like to extend the comforts our humble camp has to offer."

"That's a v...v...v...very kind offer, although I don't know how much we can help." I said.

"Nonsense, I'm sure that we can find some use for you. What are your names?" He asked kindly. I felt the urge to tell him, but caught myself.

_Do you trust them?_ I asked Alice.

_They seem to be in league with the Band of Spera._ She responded.

_That doesn't help. I don't want to get involved._

_I don't think we have a choice._ She acknowledged grimly.

_Real names or fake?_

_Definitely fake._

"My name is Jack, just jack." I lied.

"And I'm Linda, short for Wendelyn." Alice said. The general's eyes narrowed, but he didn't press the issue further. He studied us, looking us over from head to toe. He focused on the blade pressed against my side, and I cursed myself for carrying Soulbender, the dark iron blade I used to carry out my father's will. Alice shot a nervous look in my direction, but I nodded encouragingly.

The general gestured for his soldiers to leave the tent, and then did so without complaint. The biting cold winter air bit at our backs and tore into us like knives, but we remained silent.

"Jonathan Ternac, and Aliendra." Alice winced at her name. "Your mother sent word that you would be coming, I had just received it a few hours ago. Excellent try on the names, but your sword gave it away Jack."

"That's not my name." Alice said, the familiar stench of regret burning in her chest so fiercely that I could feel it.

"Ah yes, your mother mentioned that your heritage was a... touchy subject." He said articulating every word precisely, it occurred to me that he might be just as dangerous in politics as he was on the field. He began walking towards us, and apprehension shot through me. I was perched at the entrance flap to the tent, my sword drawn before he could say a word.

"I'm not going to hurt you boy. Queen Alena sent word that you needed to visit someone very special" I heard "Someone who cannot be named lest we be overheard." I silently slid my sword back into its sheath. He brushed past us, and opened the flap of the door. It had started snowing and evolved into a full scale blizzard. Ice cut at my cheeks and my fingers felt numb within seconds. I looked at Alice who seemed just as uncomfortable as I was. She jerked her head to the sky, and I nodded, understanding her perfectly. She and I stopped in our tracks. The general turned around to see what was taking us so long, and saw both of us staring steadfast at the sky, ignoring the blisteringly cold air biting our faces. We focused on the clouds and willed them to disperse, and within seconds the sky cleared. The snow stopped falling and it even began to feel warmer. The wind died down, and it became much easier to walk.

Alice and I, as comfortable as we were going to get, looked out on the camp. To say that it was a rebellion was an understatement. Thousands if not hundreds of thousands of tent covered the landscape, tan imprints upon the infinitely white backdrop. Among these tents, workers, soldiers, children, and refugees of all shapes and sized bustled about going among daily business. They struck the tents and divided the pieces amongst themselves, so that no one person was carrying more than they could bear. Even the children helped out bearing blankets and clothes in little sacks tied to their backs. Each of these people preparing to move south, to free their homeland. This wasn't a rebellion, it was a revolution.

The general nodded appreciatively, and jerked his head. We followed and traveled a few miles easily before something broke in the ice. A splash of blue submerged in darkness sunk into the almost invisible whiteness of a hill. As we got closer I was able to see the formations of ice. The outlines of humanoid shapes that were too perfect to be mortal, imprinted in designs upon the ice, and carved into elaborate unmelting statues. These were the pictures of the gods, the true gods rather than the singular god that Emperor Ternac imposed upon the Empire. Shul, the god of work and harvest.I saw them all here, Malinna the goddess of magic, Sceptra the goddess of hope and wisdom, and the most powerful of them all Cin the god of family and love. All of them preserved in their immortal glory in ice. There was only one place in the world were these could exist, we have reached the frost caves of Belmouth.

The general looked apprehensive as he neared the caves, stories of what had happened to the travelers who ventured too close still permeated the continent. The chill that ran down my spine had nothing to do with the cold. "This is where I leave you." He said quickly, and nearly sprinted away. Alice and I turned to face the caves, and with a deep breath we surged forward.

The caves surrounded us and the light melted away, the caves illuminated only by dull reflections in the ice. Every surface was polished with crystal clarity, and Alice and I were visible in every surface. Soon the caves opened up to a large room over a hundred feet in diameter, with a dozen kneeling figures surrounding a fire in the center. Each wore robes of bright white, and rose once we entered.

They turned to face us, and I would've sworn that the gods had descended and taken mortal form. There were about six men and six women, each looking no older than twenty. Their faces were elegantly cut, and they sat impossibly still upon their shoulders. Although it was their eyes that marked them as "other". Pupiless eyes of liquid gold set still in their sockets, as they surveyed each of us in turn. I glanced to the right to look at anything else, and witnessed a large pile of bones in the corner. I decided that looking upon these creatures wasn't too bad.

"The boy marks us as creatures yet he doesn't understand." A woman hissed, and they moved quickly, faster than any person could, and surrounded us.

"They seek the answers. They want to know the truth." A man spat surprisingly impatient for an immortal.

"Can we trust them with the information though? Their flagrant disregard for the goddesses work makes me question their true intentions. Would they abuse the power?"

"Tell us mortals why you felt the need to tamper with the natural world. Why did you stop the storm?" A witch spat.

"We...uh...we… were cold." I stuttered, feeling my face drain of blood entirely. I glanced at Alice and she looked as if she was doing everything she could not to be sick on the floor.

"Ah yes. You tampered with the world, and unbalanced the climate because you were cold. Where do you think the water that you dissipated went? Do you believe that it simply fell into nonexistence? It is likely that you two have kickstarted a drought in an area, or began a flood in another. Nature is a delicate thing that one must observe carefully over centuries to begin to realize its true complexity. It is not up to you to decide how it operates. Why should we bestow anything upon you if you cannot even appropriate the use of your gifts?"

"We are trying to kill Emperor Ternac." All of the witches hissed, and bared fangs. With each passing second they proved themselves more than mortal.

"Blood traitor! Scoundrel! Murderer! Desecrator! There used to be thousands of us, until he rode in riding the darkness like a steed and slaughtered us all. We have walked the earth since the gods and goddesses molded it with their hands, and he swept us away, using the darkest kind of magic."

"But you're immortal." Alice pointed out, barely being able to speak.

"Immortality and invincibility are two different things girl. Blade and magic can still tear us from this realm, although we were never meant to leave. There is no world for us after this like there is for you. This is it."

"Do you know how the emperor got to be so powerful?" I asked quickly, and cautiously, afraid that they might go off again.

A short witch spoke up, and spoke with crystal clear enunciation, refusing to abuse the hiss that the other witches had adopted. "Of course we know boy, it was us that taught him how to do it. In the early days, when there were thousands of us, we used to teach the most gifted wizards in the world how to control and manipulate their gifts. Ternac was different. We discovered that his magic controlled more than a single element, gifts similar to yours Aliendra."

I could feel Alice want to respond, but she remained quiet. A testament to the palpable fear in the room.

"He was always fascinated with expanding his power, and once he learned about joining up with other wizards he departed immediately. I am aware that the two of you have experienced the proper method of conjoinment, an equal partnership. Ternac was interested in something different. He wished to tear the magic from a magician and keep it for himself, although he did not anticipate the effects. Magic is an extension of the soul, and when he began stealing magic, he started trapping portions of human souls within his body."

"How do we kill him?" I asked, and the woman turned on me with a strange look in her eye. She looked me up and down and I felt as if she were reading my past, and looking straight through me.

"You cannot, at least not with mortal or magical means. Unfortunately you and Alice are the only hope for the empire to relinquish itself of the evil ruler, and you will have to overpower him, unless you can find a way for him to drive a blade into his own heart." She said with a cackle that sounded somewhat like a laugh.

"Now begone! We have told you more than enough, if you remain we will not hesitate to strip you from your bones." Judging from the pile of evidence in the corner, I did not doubt her for a second.

Author's note-I finally sat down and wrote a plan for this story. I know how every chapter is going to work middle to end, so there may be a little more structure. I can also begin to focus more on character development and simple literary skills like imagery and diction in speech. This chapter has been four days in the making, I hope you enjoyed. Thank you for reading.


	16. I don't Deserve It

(Emperor Ternac's POV)

Sightlessly, I gazed out upon my deserted throneroom. The crystal structures that surrounded me blurred together as I struggled to focus on hardening my thoughts. The tide pushed against my mind, and the barriers threatened to break, but I stood firm. A single voice shouted through the shield I had erected.

"Traitor, bloodspiller, murderer!" It shouted and I tried to remember who that voice belonged to. Was it one of the peasants caught tormenting others with his powers, or a filthy-blooded noble that rose through the ranks intimidating others with their powers. The names he called me were better suited for himself.

I pictured my mind as an island, surrounded by an ocean of murderous tongues. Upon the island I created walls of solid iron to prevent even a shred of a thought to enter my oasis, and placed myself in the center. Alas, blessed silence.

I allowed my sight to return to see a courier standing with a terrified look in his eyes. The fear I instilled was unfortunate but necessary, lest any slip in my authority be the catalyst for the return of magic. I waved my hand in a careless gesture to signal him to speak.

"Your majesty." He began with an elaborate bow that seemed slightly rushed. "We have just received word through-" I flashed him a warning look, we couldn't speak of those terrible devices where they may be overheard. "-one of our alternate sources, that Jack and Alice have made contact with the rebels in Frostrun. They were just to be guided to the Frozen Caves of Belmouth when our informant was located."

Forcing my face into a mask of composure, I gestured for the courier to be removed from my presence. He bowed quickly again and departed swiftly. Alone at last, I allowed my face to fall. "Foolish!" I whispered furiously to myself. I had allowed myself to be fooled by my son, and to be made the jester in front of my court.

I had promised him that were he to desert, and to perform any act I could percieve to be treason, the consequences would be swift and brutal. I had promised.

Clenching my fists, I rose from my golden throne and glided gracefully to the center of the room. I held together my facade of indifference until I spun on the crystalline floors and allowed the magic to erupt from me in undiluted waves. Raw pure magic ripping out from the pores in my skin and filling the room.

I was less delighted and more satisfied to see that the crystals were undamaged but the stream of power tearing through them. Crystals, the one mineral capable of absorbing and containing magic.

I explored every inch of my being and tore into every pocket of borrowed magic, and funneled it into my release. I tilted my head back and laughed. A cold heartless laugh. My son betrayed me, as every rebel too ignorant to see the efforts I had gone through to protect and preserve them. Magic was a plight on this land, and those gifted with it had a natural advantage over those who did not. Why couldn't they see that by eliminating magic, I saved their lives?

I turned my head toward the crystal at my feet, and threw my fist into it with blinding speed. The crystal cracked, but the integrity of the structure remained sound. A drop of water fell to the cracked gem, and before I could stop it, I was crying.

I cried for the blood that I had to spill, I cried for the kingdom I never wanted, but had to rule for those that depended on me for their safety, but most of all I cried for the son who would never love me. I had tried to form him into the man that I was never able to be, and hoped that by showing him mercy and giving him extravagant gifts available to none other in the kingdom, I could win his favor, but no. He would rather tramp around with the _Whore_ Aliendra. I had known her identity since she let that image of her home slip, and I kept her alive for his sake. She, who was the very personification of the ideals I hated, I had preserved for him.

I wiped a calloused hand across my eyes, adjusted the dark iron blade at my side, and strode over to my throne. I sat myself upon the burning gold, but ignored the pain. Calling out to whomever was listening, I feigned nonchalance.

A few guards walked in obediently, and bowed awaiting their orders. I took a steadying breath, and with no hesitation shown I ordered "Bring my wife and daughter to the gallows tonight. Allow them a single night to make peace with god, and then tomorrow at noon they shall hang."

The guards looked shocked, but bowed obediently. I waved them away, and added "Also be sure that none disturb me tonight unless it is an absolute emergency." The broken madman needed time to mourn.

(Alice's POV)

As we walked away from the cave, to say we were hopeless would have been a severe understatement. The frosted air did nothing to help alleviate our fear. How were we supposed to kill an emperor with near unlimited power, armed only with the knowledge that he was far more powerful than us? I looked to Jack and could tell that he was thinking the same thing, even without our bond.

_What do you suppose we do?_ I asked.

_We do what we're doing now, help the rebels and eventually kill the emperor._ He said it with such conviction that I knew that he would stop at nothing to tear his corrupt father from the throne. A furious assassin and an angry witch, for a moment I almost felt sorry for Emperor Ternac.

_Well whatever we do, I want to start it off by getting out of this blasted cold_. I demanded.

_That sounds like a good first step_. He agreed.

The storm seemed to pick up, and ravage the landscape so furiously and thoroughly that it looked as if it were trying to tear the land up and build it anew. Our fingers and toes were already numb, and I didn't even have to look to know that my lips were blue, and my face unnaturally pale. The blizzard stung, but we endured it and marched through trying to find the general.

After a few minutes of struggling against the wind, a few flickering torchlights alerted us to the mobilized army. They walked with refined speed and efficiency, especially considering the storm. We searched through the huddle faces, but the general was impossible to discern from the rest, until we saw a single solitary figure at the front of the rebels. We fought closer until we were fortunate to see the general paving the way for his troops.

He didn't notice us, and kept stomping forward the blizzard beginning to block him from sight even though he was only ten feet away. We pushed even closer, and I had to touch him on the shoulder before he would notice. He whirled around his blade flashing and had it pinned at my throat before I could make a sound. His eyes widened and he returned the blade to its sheath.

"I'm sorry your majesty please forgive me." He said.

"I'm not royalty, Alena is the queen." I snapped a little harsher than intended. "It's fine, reflexes like that will save your life on the battlefield."

Noticeably relieved, but slightly troubled he said. "What will you do now? I am to believe that you have no intention of remaining with my liberation force, so where will you go?"

Jack spoke up "We're thinking of returning to Vellhaven to see if Queen Alena has anything she needs done."

"If I may, the fight in Spera fares poorly. I understand that you aren't soldiers, but Aliendra-" I growled lowly. "- if you were to reveal your identity to them, you might give them the spirit it takes to win this war."

"No!" I snapped. "Absolutely not, I will not be a puppet to be paraded around. If you want a warrior fine, I can fight on the battlefield. Although I will not be a pawn!" Jack looked sympathetically at me, but said nothing. He understood, and I had said everything that needed to be said.

"Why are you so unwilling to take up your throne?" He asked, shocking me. Without time to think I responded with the easiest answer to come up with, but the hardest to say. "Because I don't deserve it."

Then I spun on my heels and stomped into the storm.

Author's note- I don't know about this chapter. I tried a bit of foreshadowing and character development for Alice and the emperor, and a little bit for the nameless general. I also tried to set the stage for the final battle a little bit, but I will say nothing more on the subject. Thank you for reading.


	17. En Garde

(Alice's POV)

Unease bit at us the entire trek home. Something was wrong, and our imagination filled in the gaps for us. The emperor had discovered us and has dispatched his strongest armies to vanquish the magic wielders in his realms. Or, the emperor has discovered my mother and has added her power to his arsenal, tearing her soul from her body and shoving into a corner of his mind. Neither seemed particularly likely, but paranoia grips even the most sure of insurgents.

Slowly the gods-forsaken snow retreated back, and we could build our first true fire in weeks. Jack collected the firewood, and I had to struggled not to incinerate the entire forest with a snap of my fingers.

_Try it without the finger snapping._ Jack suggested.

_Why?_ I asked.

_I've been working on a theory, that magic flows through your being, and can be controlled through simple thought. The finger pointing may be a crutch to help your mind focus._ He explained. I glanced at the timber and willed it to spring to life. It remained steadily unlit, but a part of me flared. I reached within myself and found a pulsing veil, I pushed through it and magic flowed through me begging to be released. I looked at the logs and begged them to burn, and they obliged. The fire roared, and I turned back to face Jack.

_Oho, cut-throat and educated, you're turning out to be quite a catch mr. Sentan._ I said.

_I've also been thinking. If I were to publicly come out as Jonathan Ternac, the rebel sympathizers might rally and the armies could swell._ He said. I heard the unspoken words in there _You could too._

_What about your family?_ I asked, hoping to deter him from suggesting that I do the same.

_I'll save them, and they can live happy and free in a country that isn't governed by a tyrant and a murderer._

_Watch it Jack, you're already a murderer. Comes with the job._

He chuckled to himself.

_Alright miss Springhaven, you win this round._ He glanced up at the sky _It's getting late. We have a big day of walking without direction hoping that we're going the right way tomorrow._

_Yeah, can't miss that. Goodnight._

_Goodnight._

I curled up beside him, savoring his closeness, and closed my eyes utterly unprepared for another night of facing my dead.

Darkness still shrouded the landscape as a panic-stricken Jack shook me awake, only hours before we would take the final steps into Vellhaven. Tears dotted his cheeks which only served as a break from his pale features whiter than the moon. I sleepily looked up at him, and tensed ready to spring into action. I threw myself to my feet faster than I thought possible and conjured a ball of fire in my palm, ready to tear apart whatever frightened Jack that badly.

Sensing no danger in the infinite darkness, I turned to look at Jack still sitting on the ground next to where I had been moments ago. I opened my mind to his, and felt his panic and fear, mingled with relief that couldn't quite overwhelm the terror still gripping his mind.

He fought against himself, trying to keep what he had seen from shining through to me, but I still caught a few images. The Emperor grinning fiercely standing over a red mound. A dark black blade that seemed wholly unnatural, with red liquid dripping onto a crystalline floor. His father kicking the mound so that it rolled over and a pale lifeless face gazed up at the sky it couldn't see. It was the face of a woman who looked aged, then that of a girl not yet an adult, then my own. My immobile eyes pierced through my soul, and I looked down again at Jack.

Tremors rocked through him, and I wanted to help but couldn't will myself to move. He shakily stood, and then tore into the forest inhumanly fast. I gazed down at where I had been sleeping moments before, slumber now seemed impossible. I sat down and stared at the ebbing embers of our fire, deep within myself I felt a familiar tug as I usually do whenever I use magic. I looked around but the world remained calm, it wasn't me doing the magic.

Jack returned a few moments later with two wooden staffs each perfectly carved. He tossed it to me, and I noticed that each end were fitted with a molded iron cap. Jack had one exactly the same. He twirled his a few times with practiced precision and looked at me a cool calm in his eyes, tears still visible on his cheeks.

Ignoring our usual method of communication he spoke aloud. "If we are going to fight the emperor that means we need to be able to fight. You have a staff with iron on the ends so that it hurts when you get hit, but it isn't fatal. Now the first thing you need to know is when you are in a fight it may be tempting to stare at your opponents eyes, don't, you need to focus right here." He pointed at the center of his chest. "You'll be able to see all motions of the arms and legs, if they have a weapon focus on the arm wielding it. Now, I want you to strike me." He twirled his staff a few times more and crouched down, his staff aimed right at my chest.

_En Garde_ He thought.

I gripped the bottom of my staff like a sword, and brought it over my head. It was heavier than I thought. I brought it down right where Jack was, but faster than an arrow he darted behind me and a jarring pain in my shoulder told me that his staff had found home.

"Hold the center of your staff, holding it like that makes you too slow, also I've been thinking about how occasionally we can move faster than normal people, and I think that it's the magic in our blood. Let the magic flow through you but don't release it and we'll see what happens. Remember hold it like this." He held out his staff with his hands about a foot apart in the center.

I reached into the pulsating center of my being, and broke through the veil. Magic burned my veins but I didn't release it. It begged and screamed but I held onto it, and the world snapped into sharper focus. I glanced over at Jack, he had no idea what was coming.

I looked my staff over and balanced the weight in my hands, oak nice and supple. Where did I know that from? I pushed the thought aside and swung the staff striking an invisible enemy, my hands and the staff moved as one of their own accord. I glanced one final time at Jack's eyes, and dared him to dance.

I struck like a tiger, the iron point of my staff flying directly towards his chest so fast he only had time to parry, before I spun around and the other end was aimed at his skull. He caught it and tried to jab me, I dodged with the speed and elegance of the wind a smile biting at the corners of my mouth.

He took a step back, then another, only able to resist my fatal dance and could do nothing to stop it. Sweat fell down my brow, and threatened to fall into my eyes. It was time to stop playing with him. I feinted to the right, and pulled his legs out from under him. He fell onto the dirt, and I lightly tapped his chest with the butt of my staff.

"Consider yourself struck." I said aloud. He just looked at me shocked.

"How the… What in the… What?" He sputtered.

I took my tunic and lazily wiped it across my brow, the magic was melting away and I was returning to normal.

"My dad thought that as princess I should be able to handle myself, so he taught me about basic weapons and the magic only helped."

"But… but that sweep, it is only taught to assassins in Rak's fort down in the southern kingdom. I trained with him for a few months and I have never seen anyone use it. Where did you learn it?"

"I don't know it just came naturally. You were prepared to defend your left flank so I feinted to the right. You let your guard down completely on your left opening me up to cut from from below. On the ground you had no chance to-"

"-to stop me." He finished for me. "That was the same speech Rak gave me when he first taught me the move, I remember it word for word. Hold on I want to try something. Attack me again."

I punched through the veil and felt the familiar tense confidence flood through me. I looked over my opponent, and he smiled fiercely at me showing a lot of teeth. He took his staff and held it horizontally, somehow knowing what he was doing I held my staff vertically.

"Challenger" He began. "By shritka's honor may we have a fair and equal battle."

"And by Personi's light may your blade strike free and true." I said.

"I knew it!" He yelled. "You cheater you're using my memories to fight against me! That was the sacred battle greeting performed only in front of the ruler of the Southern Kingdom."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that I was doing it. It felt like instinct. Either way, are you feeling better?" I asked.

"Yeah, now that I know you can defend yourself I feel a bit more comfortable. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I always just used magic, weapons are heavy especially when you don't have a home for nine years."

"Alright well we better get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow, or later today." He said looking up at the sky. We curled up on the ground dried sweat still clinging to our hair and clothes and allowed the agony of sleep to take us, the feeling of unease stronger than ever before.

(Elidra's POV)

I grudgingly glanced at the soldiers armed to the tooth walking in groups around the streets of Somnium the capital of the western Kingdom. Whispers that didn't dare to speak up spoke of rebellion in the other kingdoms, and since Vellhaven was only ever afraid of Spera the Emperor sent his troops here.

They came like bandits, pillaging and murdering anyone who dared speak to or about them. My mother spoke to me on the street about what life was back in the time of Spera, as I was too young to remember and a soldier had her hanging in the square in front of the ruined citadel that once housed the royal family of Spera, long since dead. Or so I had thought until a single phrase worked its way through the alleys and bars: Aliendra is alive and she is fighting the Emperor.

Our queen still lived and fought to save us. We would be free of the tyrants rule and we could govern ourselves. I was only 14, but knew that this was our only shot for freedom. The soldiers looked in my direction with a greedy hunger and I knew what was on their minds, so I sauntered over to them and obliged. Three of them, all willing to depart their posts to have their way with a child. Hah, I stopped being a child when I watched them tear my mother from her rope, and saw her fall to the cobblestones.

They removed their aged tunics and threw their weapons to the side, pleasure across each of their faces. With them suitably unarmed, I drew a dagger from within my skirts and slit the throats of two of the men before the third could react, and I had the dagger buried in his spine before he could reach his sword.

I looked up at the red moon, and smiled. The chimes of bells boomed across the city and the nation of Spera roared. The revolution had begun.

Author's note- This entire chapter was a dream that I had last night. I apologize for not updating as much as I should have, but I haven't gotten as much time as I hoped this week. It's thanksgiving here and I spent most of it with my family and friends.


	18. Your Mother Wants To See You Jack

(Jack's POV)

The great gates of the city slammed shut behind us and we made our way into Vellhaven. Merchants hustled around the crowded streets desperately trying to put wares on display for the nobles who would surely come later. Drunks wandered away looking for holes to fall into a sleep in. Whores and courtesans, unsuccessful in their endeavors, groaned as one and followed after the drunks. Amidst all of the clockwork confusion, neither Alice nor I could tear our eyes off of the stone castle that housed the crystalline burrow, and a bejeweled snake.

The dull unease that had haunted our entire journey hardened into raw anxiety, neither Alice nor I spoke, hardly even glancing in each others directions as the confrontation with my father approached. About halfway down the main street she ducked into the alleyway aimed towards the richer sector of the city.

Good luck She said. I only tersely nodded.

Completely alone I walked the final few miles in solemn silence. I desperately tried to think about what two-faced monster I would have to become in order to preserve my father's good graces, or what awaited me if I didn't.

I reached the gates to the castle, and the guard nodded me in with a look that appeared to be… sympathy. I ignored it and tightened the cloak around myself, the dark iron blade bouncing against my thigh. I threw the doors open and walked into the entryway carelessly, as any servant would expect of a notorious assassin, but carefully and quietly slipped into the throne room.

The crystals somehow seemed brighter, and that made the serpent perched on his throne seem darker. He rose from his golden seat and opened his arms in greeting, his upper lip pulled back in a mix between a smile and a sneer. He glided down and embraced me widely, pulling me in a little too hard.

"Ah my son I have missed you, come let us walk." I masked any worry I had at his behavior and followed behind him. He threw the throne room doors open and strode out, a pleasant smile cast across his face. I followed behind him, anxiety evolving into raw terror. My heartbeat sped up and I desperately wanted to dash across the entryway and out of the doors, but I knew he would strike me down before I had even made it halfway.

He swung left and flew towards the residential sector of the castle. He made a right then two lefts, hallways blurring together we walked for what felt like miles until we arrived at a familiar door. The door to my mother's room. Confused I looked up to the Emperor, and he rested a palm on the handle.

"Your mother would like to see you, to see what her little boy has done." He threw the door open and gently guided me inside.

The room was the same as I remember. Flowers rested surface and every fabric was strung in their likeness. Tables and shelves covered every inch of floor surrounding the walls and a big rug at the foot of a four poster bed. On the bed, beneath the duvet, were two immobile mounds.

"Go introduce yourself Jack." The Emperor said, his voice giddy as if he were a child before winters eve. I slowly stepped towards the still silent hills in the bed. Time slowed down and I could hear my heartbeat and feel my fathers stare on my shoulder.

After what felt like an eternity, I reached the bed and threw the blanket aside. I saw my mother's face first. She was beautiful even in sleep, and the lines in her face didn't quite seem so deep, but she was pale. Too pale. It was then I noticed the purple and blue lines around her neck, and the rough garments of a prisoners robe draped across her limp form. I fell backwards throwing my hand over my mouth. I ran into the bathing chamber and retched until nothing remained, and the tears fell across my face. I turned around and my father leaned silently against the door frame, a barrier between me and my mother.

"You forgot someone." He said softly, and walked over to the bed. He threw aside the blankets to reveal a second form just as pale as the first except it was only half the size. She looked less peaceful as her mouth still pulled back in the shape of a scream, and dried tears still rested upon her puffy cheeks. The bruises on her neck matched my mother's but they seemed even larger on her.

I leaned over to retch again, but there was nothing left to give. I was empty. I turned to face my father, the murderer, the assassin, with a fireball brewed in my hand. There was no light in my eyes as I stared him down, and threw his death.

He caught it with ease and extinguished the flames with a glance. I then noticed tears on his face too.

"You seek to kill me as well? Just like you killed your mother and sister? I told you what would happen if you disobeyed, if you and that _Whore_ still tried to resist me! You knew the consequences and their blood is on your hands! Yours! You killed my family! Jack Sentan, I want you out of my castle this instant, the only reason you are not hanging right now is because I can't bear to see another of my kin claimed by that cursed rope... Out! Out now you damned traitor! If you stick your head in this castle again I will tear you to pieces. Now, I need to grieve."

I sprinted past him, tears finally stopped, but leisurely walked the rest of the way out of the castle, dreaming of the day when his blood with spill across that crystal floor and I would be wielding the blade.

The doors to the house purchased with my blood money flew open of their own accord and I stormed in. The house was seemingly deserted, but I knew better and stomped down the stairs not caring who heard. Let them yell at me, see how they call with a blade in their throats.

Silence fell and the band of Spera looked up at me from around a map with looks that ranged from pity to fear. I could stand fear, it was pity that I couldn't handle.

"Send me somewhere with Imperial Soldiers I can kill." I ordered. The room melted slightly, and an elderly woman spoke quickly.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to rest, you've been gone for several months." I shot her a glare and she back down.

"No now."

Ashryver and Alena glanced at each other, Ashryver shot her a questioning look and Alena nodded softly.

"Well the revolution in Spera is in full swing, but it is being met with heavy resistance. The rebels have unified and are attacking the soldiers in killing fields, but the superior technology of the imperials is making resistance futile. We need someone to go down there, and help turn the tide." Ashryver explained.

"Excellent, I'll leave tomorrow." I said with an emotionless voice, and turned to leave.

Alice rose from the corner of the room, where I didn't even notice her sitting, and she caught my shoulder.

"Jack, are you sure you want to do this?" She asked, her voice full of that insufferable sympathy.

I shook free of her grasp. "I've killed before it won't be hard to do so again, at least this time I'll have a reason."

"That's not what I'm talking about. We can benefit the rebellion from here, just by being alive." I caught her hidden warning.

"I'll be fine, I have magic in my blood. They won't stand a chance." I explained.

"I know that. Can we at least stay a few nights to rest up, I've quite enjoyed having a house, room, and most of all a bath."

"You are not going" I commanded. "It's far too dangerous." I have lost too many people I care about today.

"Ha, says the boy I knocked flat on his ass. I'll go with you wherever you go, all I'm asking for is for a few days."

My heart warmed slightly, but I stilled feared for her. She was powerful and strong when she was focused, but she's been taken far too many times. "Alright, we leave a week from today. Where specifically are we most needed."

"Somnium" Ashryver said. "The capital of Spera. The city is divided between revolutionaries and soldiers, the battles have been raging for a week."

I nodded tersely. "Well then Alice, let's go to war."

Author's note- This chapter has been planned for a while and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I feel like I really captured the Emperor's character and have done a bit more with Jack. Alice is still on her way, but you'll see more of her later.


	19. That's what I am Afraid Of

Author's Warning- This chapter contains swearing.

Alice's POV

Jack tore from the room and up the stairs, each step completely silent. His face an unreadable mask but through our connection I could see his visions. Different weapons but the body remained the same. A crumpled emperor curled at his feet, blood let free from dozens of wounds. Only a true killer, born of blood, could have such dark fantasies.

I followed him up and around the house, somehow he remained the exact way to our room despite only ever seeing it once. The door opened with an earsplitting creak and he slid inside. Darkness emanated from the room, but it was only partly the lack of candlelight. I walked in after him and what I saw made me stop cold.

His mask had slipped, and the monster inside was revealed. His upper lip was curled back in a snarl and his eyes shot daggers at nothing in particular. I could see know why his power had always manifested in fire before we joined, there was a suitable supply in his soul.

He had no hint of grief or fear in his eyes, just an unending bloodlust to fit an incomprehensible loss.

I didn't know what to do or say so I just stood there like the useless witch I am. He glanced in my direction and his eyes softened, but still sent shivers down my spine. I could see straight through to his soul, and a creature of darkness purred. This was Jack the heartless Assassin.

Just to have something to do, I threw off my cloak and slipped into the bed. Jack continued to pace around the room each step a silent promise for vengeance. I caught myself drifting off, and fought against it. After a few minutes words fell into my mind, and I started talking to him without meaning to.

_I don't want you to go_ I thought begging him to understand the risks.

_I have no doubt that you saw what I did, so how can you let that bastard rule for even a minute more?_ He shouted letting his desperation and fury fill his words.

_We can fight some other way._ I pleaded.

_You know as well as I do that even if the emperor falls, that the world will fall into chaos over who is to fill his place. If you and I fight there will be no doubt over who is to rule after him._

_I don't want to rule._ I countered.

_Then I'll do it. Better me than some general who managed to beat out all of the other rebels. We don't need another tyrant._ He said, although I got the feeling like he wanted the crown all along.

_Still, remember how easily we were captured? That could happen again._

_Aliendra_ I flinched at the name_ if the world knew who you were, they wouldn't raise a finger against either of us._

_That's not my name._

_Yes it is. When will you stop running from your past?_

_You've seen what I've done, you know that I can never be that girl again._

_That girl is the queen of Spera, and the future empress of the five kingdoms._ He taunted.

_No!_ "That girl is dead! She died a long time ago, and screw you for bringing her back!" I shouted abandoning our mental debate.

"I've seen that girl way too many times. Remember back in the prison cell? You tortured that guard not because he killed, but because he killed children. That was Aliendra peeping through, she isn't dead yet. You're hiding her because you're afraid she'll hate you for what you've become."

I stepped closer to Jack, looked him square in the eye and said "Fuck you." and walked out. I left the room, then the house, and started walking. I threw a cloak over my head and just walked aimlessly. I reached out to Jack, but met only resistance. He was shutting me out. I tightened the cloak and veered right changing course. Before I knew it I was at the gates of a grand castle.

The two guards at either side of the iron gates stood to attention. The leftmost one shouted "Halt! What business have you while the king is in mourning?" I merely glanced in his direction and his face drained of all color. He went limp and fell to the ground, completely and absolutely dead.

I turned to the guard on the right, and blood spurted from a cut on his throat. I looked down to see a dark iron sword in my grip. I didn't remember picking it up.

I thrust my hands forward and the gate flew off of its hinges and into the grand green yard. The only grass within a hundred miles that's green. I flew forward over the cobblestone path and to the main doors. They flew open without even a touch and I continued my assault.

Standing in the great hall was a couple dozen soldiers, each with somewhat familiar faces. As one unit they drew their blades and stood to face me. I held my dark iron blade in front of my me and put my weight on my back foot. They tensed and, like one, they marched towards me. I turned as if to run, and felt the legion behind me prepare to chase. I sprinted forward a few steps, the troops behind me doing the same each brandishing their weapons trying to get in a blow.

Suddenly I turned, a smile on my face, but the guards anticipated the feint. I barely had enough time to dodge a blow aimed at my ribs, and my sword flew up of its own accord to stop a downward swipe from another. I was quickly surrounded and blades flew at me like insects nipping at me tearing little gashes in my skin. The deadly dance had begun, a dance where even one misstep meant certain death. I let my body flow to its music and let my sword sing its song as it collided with others aware of the tune. Finally I saw an opening and thrust forward, my blade cut through skin and bone like parchment and a head fell to the floor. I turned to face the rest and continued the fight. My clothes stuck to my skin, from sweat or blood I didn't know. but still I fought. Bodies fell but I paid them no mind, they were just swords hat would no longer swing at me. I reached deep within myself and punched through the veil, allowing the magic to reinfuse my weak and aching limbs.

There were only around 10 men left. I pictured a fireball brewing in my hand, and thrust it at a group of enemies to my left. They burst into flame, but as soon as fire caught, they were extinguished. I threw another and another, but they refused to burn. A stabbing pain in my back resolved me to fight using only my blade, I couldn't allow my attention to waver again.

Finally the last men fell, and I was alone. Surrounded by bodies, I took stock of my body. Everywhere hurt and blood coated every surface. My eyes stung and I threw my hand over them to wipe the sweat, and it came away completely red.

I stepped over the corpse and threw open the final door, something on the other side made my breath catch. The crystal room was exactly as I had seen it in Jack's memories, but something was off. Instead of one central golden throne. there were two. Seated in them were a man and a woman each appearing to be in their early twenties. The man had hair as dark as night, and resembled the emperor in every way, right down to the sneer. The woman was different, dark brown hair fell down to her shoulders and a very large crown rested upon her brow. Her eyes cold and fixed upon me.

I stopped dead and looked at them both, neither of them rose to strike at me, but neither tried to speak to me either. Eventually after the silence threatened to suffocate me, I finally asked.

"Where is Emperor Ternac?" They only laughed.

The woman responded. "Emperor Ternac has been dead for several years, and in his absence we thought it best that we rule instead."

"Yes it seems only fair that we remain, to keep the empire together." The man said.

I stood silently, something about this situation felt sickening. I was suddenly very afraid, all of the anger I had felt upon leaving the house ebbed away leaving a painful feeling behind.

Curiosity got the better of me and I asked. "Is magic still illegal?"

They laughed again, a soulless laugh that left me feeling drained rather than mirthful. The man answered. "Where has this girl been these past years? Of course magic is legal, in fact it is illegal not to have magic."

A lump rose in my throat but I had to ask anyway. "What do you do to people who don't have magic? Do you kill them?"

"We are not monsters!" The woman shouted. "We merely put them to work performing jobs that befit them, they work as slaves in the mines and fields"

I thought about how many people lived in the empire who couldn't do magic and gagged. That would be thousands if not millions of slaves. I looked up at the two monarchs and they seemed far more familiar. Jack's anger and resentment looked down on me, and Alice's fear of being the minority. This is what would happen if Jack and Alice fought and won the war: a genocide of anyone who looked down upon them.

They both rose from their thrones, suddenly much younger and they weaved a spell that mixed fire, water, ground, and air. It spun around them creating a stream of pure energy, they shut their eyes and thrust it towards me. I barely had time to open my mouth before the spell overcame me, and darkness took control.

Someone was shaking my arm as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. I was back in the command center for the Band of Spera, I suppose I should say that I was back home. I looked to my right to see a concerned Jack shaking my arm, trying to wake me up. Despite the unending darkness outside it looked as if he hadn't slept at all, perhaps his family's death hadn't been part of the dream.

_I'm sorry, I would never say those things to you._ He apologized. I knew he had seen everything.

_I know, and I'm sorry about your family. I promise we'll tear him from his throne._

He looked past me, the fury he had dissolving into a deep sadness. _I just want to make sure that he doesn't do this to anyone ever again._

_He may, and that is why we have to stop him. Look let's go to Spera tomorrow, there we can help the rebellion and keep his troops occupied._

_They all will fear the great Alice and Jack. _He joked.

I tore my gaze from him and stared out the window. That was what I was afraid of.

Author's Note- This chapter was a lot of work to get to work just right, and I am really proud of how it turned out. I received a review the other day that I would like to publicly answer. It asked what I will be doing with The daughter of the Sun. I have received this question a lot and have put some serious thought into answering it. There are two possible things that I will do as soon as this story is finished, I may start the burning heart series all over again now that I have gained a bit of skill and know what I want it to be, or I could start working on a different project. Odds are the different project will be a real honest-to-god book which I plan to publish after finishing, and it will never see this website. I do not know which I will do, but I know that I have a bit farther to go before I can see myself writing a full-length novel.


	20. The Serpent

(Jack's POV)

Alice fell back asleep quickly, but I couldn't shake what she had seen. I was not like my father, I would not take the crown unless it was thrust upon me, and I would never force her to do anything that she didn't want to do. I looked down on Alice's face, so calm in sleep, but still so very pale. The remnants of a fear not quite escaped in sleep still resting upon her face.

I readjusted myself to look at the ceiling, and thought about what will happen when we defeat the Emperor. When, not if. We'll probably just go off to Spera and live the rest of our lives in obscurity. I'll pick up lumberjacking or something like that, maybe do something constructive with a blade once. I'd build us a little cottage, and we could live alone and in the quiet. I smiled at the thought.

As soon as I smiled, I hated myself for it. I contorted my features into a grimace, and scratched at my leg. Suddenly bodies surrounded the cottage, their faces in sharp focus. Most were just my targets back when I was an assassin, but my mother and sister were clearly visible. Amidst the corpses was a man I had never seen before, but he had the same brown hair that Alice had, I could only assume it was Alice's father.

The bodies tainted the land, and the grass surrounding our cottage turned blood red. The log cottage hardened to stone, and the insignia of the Assassins guild became evident. I forced myself to smile at the picture, this is what I deserved. I was a warrior, plain and simple. Blood and steel were my code, and I could never separate myself from them.

After the tyrant fell, I would go out and hunt every single traitor to the new crown in all of the five kingdoms. I would live out the rest of my days in endless bloodlust, until finally I would get lucky and a stray arrow or lucky thrust tore my throbbing soul from this world, and into the hellish afterlife that would await someone of my stature. It wasn't the life I wanted, but the one I knew I deserved.

I curled up beside Alice and let my mind open, allowing her dreams to take me away. Her dreams were pure, happy. They were full of life and happiness completely abandoning the terror I had seen earlier. These dreams convinced me that there was still good in her, and that the little girl she once was still exists in her somewhere, and she's begging to be free.

After a week of rest we set out for Spera. Ashryver tried without success to give us each full sets of armor, but they would only impair our movements, and weren't worth the extra weight. Grudgingly he forced us at least to accept a tunic of chainmail to protect against a stray arrow, to that we accepted. Alena looked resolved, but also near to tears as she sent us both on our way.

She gave us each a particularly tight hug, holding close as if when she let go we would be gone forever. I never got the feeling that Alena liked me all that well in the short time we had known each other, but there was nothing short of motherly love in her deep teary eyes as she sent us away. She didn't respond this way when we went up north, I suppose combat made this different.

We waited until nightfall and slipped out of the city, it all felt too natural for me, until I remembered the girl at my side. Darkness was my greatest asset as an assassin, it is only fair that it should serve me now. Placing the star of Frostrun firmly on our left, we began the journey that would either end in us emerging victorious, or our bodies amongst the thousands of nameless corpses fallen to the cause.

(The Serpent's POV)

I placed my hands upon my spruce desk and sighed contently. The prodigal son Jack Sentan has emerged from the shadows, and it would be soon that the shadows surround him once more, once again my great weapon. I looked around my office at the stone walls of our underground compound. The stone was tinted black, and was illuminated only by a faint candle burning out on my desk. Plenty of shadows, makes an old assassin like myself feel right at home. The only decoration on the walls were two banners on either side of a solitary wooden door, a black snake, mouth exposed, fangs dripping with venom. An insignia constructed in my honor of course, for who else could have created the elusive Assassin's guild?

I drummed my fingers against the parchment-covered desk, the glint of my dark iron ring caught my eye. A special ring fitted with the insignia of the guild, bestowed only upon the highest members. Only three have ever received it: myself, the bastard Tellerson who always had a knack for knowing things he shouldn't, and Jack Sentan. I had been so proud of the boy, watching him grow up into the perfect weapon I had always wanted him to be. It was probably why I didn't send out the kill order as soon as he went rogue, I didn't trust easy, but I knew the boy would sooner die than betray us. He'd killed enough traitors himself.

A knock on my door, three rapid knocks, a pause, then two more; someone is here to deliver news. I reach between my legs to secure the black dagger fitted with lifesbane that I always keep at the ready, and signaled for the messenger to enter. A boy entered and the nervousness on his face was clearly visible, he looked so innocent and pure. I couldn't help but wish to spill his bright red blood across the stones. I shoved the thought away and waved nonchalantly for him to relay his message.

"The northern, western, and southern kingdom have all fallen to the rebels. All that remains is Spera, and reports suggest that the queen is returning to free her people." He relayed obediently.

"Good, that is good news. Relay this message to The Shadow, tell him to assist the queen in any way he can, but to not get caught. Feel free to remind him of the punishment of failure." The courier fought to swallow and I enjoyed watching the little bulb in his throat fight to go down. My hand gripping the blade tensed and I ached to help it, but forced myself to relax. There would be time for blood, but not yet.

The courier bowed and hastily left, shutting the door behind him I was left to my thoughts. I originally didn't want to take part in the revolution, because no matter who is in charge, there are people who want others dead. Although my opinion changed when I received some frightening news about our dear Emperor Ternac, and I simply couldn't withhold my services any longer. I swiped away stray parchment from the desk and viewed the list of names, delicately carved into the desk. Each name represented a target I had taken, and killed. Hundreds of names covered the desk and the only space left available was a large margin in the top of the desk. In it I carved with the poisoned dagger: _Ternac._

He would be the biggest contract our humble guild ever took on, but we will need the support of the entire country. So Jack Sentan, if you succeed in this you will be pardoned of any crimes you have committed against the guild, if you do not-well you won't be here to accept punishment.

(Jack's POV)

The journey to Spera was actually quite pleasant compared to the journey north. For starters wood was always available for fire, and the ground was never so damp as to prevent burning. Alice and I sparred every night, and every night we walked away with bruises while whoever sustained the less looked upon the loser smugly. It was more often her, but still I won a few.

We'd been working on her tendency to select magic or combat, but never be able to mix the two. So I ask her to light her staff on fire, whilst I strike at her. She either destroys everything within a 20 yard radius of us, or just whacks me over the head with the staff and calls it close enough.

The night before we reached Somnium, when the capital was just visible, and the western sea filled the horizon, she succeeded. I swung my staff at her exposed legs when a jet of fire blocked my blow, I swung back around aiming to catch her throat but I couldn't even get close to her. A shield of fire surrounded her from attack by all sides, and she merely needed to stand still to deflect any blow I could perform upon her. She extended her staff gently and placed an unlit tip upon my chest.

"Point." She declared, a gleeful smile cast across her face.

I threw a sweaty hand across my brow, and rested my staff on the ground. "Good job, but a shield like that isn't sustainable. You could probably hold onto it for months if you weren't under attack but I felt the drain in energy when I struck at you. Letting the magic take the full impact of the blow drains you too quickly, it is better to divide it between your staff and magic. Keeps you from tiring either front too quickly. Now again, but just light your staff this time."

Without giving her time to react I launched into a full assault striking at every weak point she presented. It took a few particularly painful blows, but soon she managed to light her staff and keep it lit. After a few more tries she could pretty consistently access her magic with little response time. As the night waned on, I finally held my hand up.

"Stop!" She caught herself mid-blow, and rested her weapon on the ground. "Tomorrow is the first day when we meet the rebels, we need to be well rested. Alice Springhaven, are you ready for battle?"

Without a trace of fear in her eyes she met my stare. "Just say the word, and watch the blood spill."

Author's Note- The Serpent is actually important, you will see more of him later. I don't know what changed but I'm actually starting to feel proud of the chapters I create. I want to show these chapters to people and say that I wrote them. It's a strange feeling, but not at all unwelcome


	21. Was I really that Frightening?

(Alice's POV)

The sounds of war were earsplitting even from several miles away, and jerked us from an uneasy sleep. I opened my heavy eyes, and gazed over my home. Somnium was in chaos, fires roared and arrows were more populous than the birds. Surrounding the city, now completely visible in the daylight, thousands if not hundreds of thousands of tents fashioned with the imperial insignia held their breath, as if waiting for the catalyst for them to release their mighty force.

I turned to Jack one last time and asked _Are you sure that you want to do this?_

He gazed out over the battle raging within stone walls of my city, _If we don't the rebels will surely fail._

_It's a good life Jack Sentan._

That it is Alice Springhaven. We silently donned and adjusted our chainmail. He handed me his dark iron sword and, before I could protest, he showed me his two wicked curved daggers. We sheathed our weapons, and started down the mountain.

It did not pass us by that to enter the city we would have to pass through the imperial camp. Our plan was simple; pose as a couple of refugees seeking a place to stay, and when we were in the city join the rebels in the fight against the empire.

We made it to the edge of the camp when a tall and too-thin soldier approached us. I ran through the story one last time, and pretended to be huddled and afraid. He took one look at us and said "Jonathan Ternac-" His throat was cut and his lifeless body fell to the floor before I even knew what had happened. Jack merely stepped over the corpse and called out. So much for the element of surprise.

Dozens of soldiers poured out of tents to see what the commotion was all about, they surrounded us quickly and had us at spear's length. I broke through the veil and allowed the magic to flow through me, the men all came into sharper focus. I grinned wildly exposing feral teeth.

A few of the men cast scared looks in each other's direction but none advanced. They all just tried to keep us from moving forward. I took a step forward and they all hastily moved back. I spun on my heel and at the same time allowed the magic coursing through me to take form. Blue flame nipped at my toes, and spread up around me building me a flesh of fire. Fire took me away, Alice vanished and was replaced with this impossible powerful duplicate: a vengeful god. Jack, my anchor, at my side felt the restraint it took to keep the fire bound and restricted. He nodded once, and my tongues of fire tasted the air.

Several of the frightened mortal men took off sprinting, the few that remained looked as if they desperately wanted to join their far-wiser friends. I grinned, they knew how impossibly outmatched they were. I drew the dark iron blade and pointed it at a random man's throat. Fire surrounded the blade as if it were a part of me, and threw the embers, thanks to the magic coursing through my veins, I saw the toy-soldier gulp.

Jack seemed to be waiting for some kind of signal to attack, ha I'll give him a signal. I thrust myself at a random soldier and pierced him quickly, and faster than even my enhanced eye could detect I leapt to another. Within the span of a second I was back at Jack's side, the guards just stood gaping at me, too stunned to realize that they were already dead. I allowed the magic to ebb away, and the bodies fell to the floor, blood finally realizing that it was time to escape. Jack only frowned like a toddler with a toy taken away, and silently took off to the city. Giggling, I followed him.

The remaining men in this section of the encampment watched from closed tent flaps as we strolled by, one was brave enough to openly stare without cover. I hissed in his direction, and he threw himself behind a barrel.

_All the king's horses and all the kings men, are scared to death of an 18 year old girl_. I said. Jack snorted.

_Do you have any idea how frightening you were back there, I'd be frightened of you too if I didn't spend the last month teaching you how to do that._ He retorted.

_Yeah, how did you learn how to do that?_ I asked.

_I had an idea, and it worked._ He said simply.

_No, you're gonna have to give me more than that. How did Jack Sentan, the magical genius, come to acquire his skills?_ I prodded.

_He sighed. I haven't been sleeping much, or at all really. In those hours I just lay there and think, and sometimes ideas pop into my head and I remember to try them in training._

We walked in silence, another soldier saw us, shrieked, and then promptly dropped to the ground behind a crate.

_Was I really that terrifying?_ I asked. Jack thought back to the fight, and there I was. I started off as a somewhat nervous looking girl, but it was obvious when the magic started flowing through me. I relaxed and became noticeably more confident. Blue fire started at my feet and flowed up my body engulfing me. I looked up to the sky with closed eyes, and then gazed back down at the soldiers. I-Jack, nodded and then I drew my sword, looking thirty years older I sent one final challenging look at the troops before slaughtering them. My face bore no resemblance to the girl I had been moments before, in that time I felt like a god, but here I truly looked like a god. There was no hint of remorse or fear on my perfectly aged face, just raw pleasure. Watching through someone else's eyes, I saw the monster I truly was and bit back the urge to vomit. There was the creature inside of me, the cruel vicious stalker of the night that takes pleasure in brutally slaughtering those that cannot resist. I saw truly who I was, and knew that I could never become queen. What may a demon do with control of a country? I didn't even want to consider.

I tore myself from his memories and focused on walking. A scrawny teenage with a helmet far to large for his head charged me and attempted to run me through. A sudden gust of wind threw him back, his sword only inches from my chest, and into a hole that hadn't been there a second ago. I glanced back at Jack with an outstretched hand. I would've made some snarky comment about him using a "crutch" as he had called it, but honestly I wasn't in the mood.

A thought occurred to me, I saw him coming and hadn't even tried to defend myself. His sword was less than a second from killing me and I hadn't so much as even raised my hands to stop him. Perhaps I had come to terms with my death, it certainly would save a lot of lives in the long-haul.

I completely detached from Jack for a moment, and allowed myself to picture a world where I didn't exist. My mother and father both would have survived that night, and they would both still be alive. My father probably would have been able to preserve the entire court of Spera, and they would lead the rebel forces to defeat Emperor Ternac. Perhaps by now they would have already succeeded and would be living in that big castle I can see over the walls of the city. Thousands would still be alive, and the Jack would be working for the assassin's guild doing what he was really good at. The world without me, seems like such a good place. I resolved that somehow in the upcoming battle, I would get myself killed, an unfortunate gust of wind directs an arrow my way. My chainmail wasn't put on correctly and a sword finds a weak spot, I didn't care. I just only knew that by this time tomorrow, Alice Springhaven would be among the list of bodies found in the wreckage of a great battle for Spera.

An unfortunate loss for someone to die so young, but my death would spur poor Jack Sentan into rushing to the capital and with my power all to himself he will easily tear the emperor from the throne, and peace will return to the world. I smiled grimly to myself, I'll finally be doing something right.

The gates to the city were opened by some guards who looked ready to soil themselves, and we stepped into hell.

Author's note- This was my first step away from another story I read about self-loathing and I feel like it's the right one. I really like what I did in this chapter because I made great use of juxtaposition and character development. (Normally I hate talking about stuff that I've done well but I'm doing a lot of stuff like I like in these stories.) Thank you for reading, the next few chapters are going to be quite intense..


	22. Until the Darkness Takes Us

(Jack's POV)

The city was in upheaval. Bodies lined the streets and those still alive were either locked in combat or cowering in whatever holes could fit them. It was gratifying to see that at least a few of the dismembered corpses in the drains wore the insignia of the empire, but it was obvious that the fight fared badly for the rebels. From our left a group of rebels charged forward all being led by a shirtless man that seemed two parts bear, one part human. He swung a mace with a single hand that I probably wouldn't even be able to lift, and laughed cheerfully as, with each swing, a soldier met his end.

A small teenage girl by his side was in battle with a burly looking soldier. He swung down with his sword and I knew what was going to happen, I averted my gaze but when I looked back, she was still standing. The large man was just pulling his mace out of the soldier's head, and he shouted out. "I did not give you permission to die today soldier! Now onward! The city is not free yet!"

I watched as he tore through an entire squadron of soldiers, his mace acting as both a weapon and shield for the rest of his makeshift army. When the fight was done, dozens of imperial soldiers were scattered amongst the ground, while not a single rebel had sustained even a scratch.

He looked over at us, and noticeably lit up. He swung the mace over to rest on his shoulder, and gleefully strutted over to us. He stopped a few feet from us, and locked eyes with Alice. To her credit she didn't turn away despite his overwhelming form.

"Ah" He exclaimed. "You must be the demon everyone in town is talking about. I must say it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He held out a massive hand, and Alice reached over to shake it. His hand closed over hers and completely surrounded it. A smile spread across the man's face.

"Captain Xavier at your service." He said with an elaborate bow. I recognized the name. He used to be a soldier in the imperial army, I was told that he was executed for treasonous acts against the state, but I later found out that he deserted after he was ordered to burn a village to make a point. He and his men vanished off of the face of the earth,

"Jack Sentan, at yours." I bowed to meet him. I thought that he had stretched his smile to its limits but he managed to smile even wider.

"Today is a joyous day for the rebellion. That must make you, Aliendra, but I hear you prefer Alice. Yes I knew your mother Alice, and she warned me that you two might be coming. Yes yes, come I'd like to introduce you to the other leaders of the rebellion. Alice you may recognize a few faces, they used to be part of your mother's court. Still are in some ways."

We followed him through the absolute terror that the city endured. The fights seemed to be dying down, occasionally Captain Xavier had to quickly dispatch a group of surviving soldiers, but overall the combat seemed to be coming to a close. Fires were starting to be put out, by hardened faces. People weeped over the bodies of their loved ones. I felt like I was spying on their grief and averted my eyes. Those with no one and nothing left to lose just curled up in some desolate corner of the city and stared off into oblivion.

We turned right down a large street and Alice suddenly paled. I looked ahead and could see why, the great white castle loomed over us, somehow more frightening than the entire imperial army. It was easy to fight, it was hard to face what you were fighting for.

Xavier threw open the large white doors and strutted inside, completely oblivious to Alice who seemed to be quite close to hyperventilating. The great hall loomed ahead of us, pillars stretched out marking a path to the back of the castle. Oak doors were placed at intervals on both our left and right sides. The strangest part of the room was twofold, instead of thrones, at the end of the hall was a large table. The second strangest part was in the center of the table an ivy plant was just beginning to grow. Noticing my staring, Xavier began to explain.

"We have a tradition here in Spera, anytime a new king and queen are crowned a throne is constructed. They then take a torch and set fire to the throne. We like to believe that placing yourself physically above your subjects leads the kings and queens to think that they are above them. The table is for discussion, any decision the king or queen make is always discussed with the court first. The ivy is just because we like the way it looks. The ivy used to spread over every surface in the castle and over the city's walls, but it was the first thing burned when Spera fell."

"Oh" was all I said. We reached the table at the end of the hall, and several strained faces looked up at me, several seats were empty.

"Ashryver is the only one missing that is still alive. It's good that he managed to find the old queen. With such a large target on her head I don't want her to be alone for a second."

Alena didn't tell Xavier about the band of Spera, there were more with her than seats at the table. Alice seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"So everyone not at this table is certainly dead?" Alice asked.

"Unfortunately so." Xavier's face darkened. " I was so scared after Spera fell that I was desperate to join the emperor's army. He told me that if I wanted to prove myself I would have to track down and eliminate a member of the Sperian court. It was my darkest day, I found where they were hiding and cut them down where they stood. I killed three before I just couldn't lift my blade anymore, I let the rest escape and started making plans to overthrow the emperor. Nine years later and we still haven't won."

The table fell silent the daunting prospect of what we had yet to do hanging over all of us like the teetering axe of an executioner threatening to fall. Xavier's face darkened considerably and he gazed deep into the shadows, begging them for some forgiveness for the crimes he had committed. Finally he cleared his throat loudly, and the cheerful unbreakable spirit we met at the gates returned to us.

"Well we now have a considerable advantage, Alice Springhaven and her lackey have come to help us extinguish this imperial scourge from the city. With their help we'll have the Spera free by the end of tomorrow afternoon." I'm sorry, her what?

"I'm not her-" Alice pressed her hand to my face silencing me.

"Shh shh lackey. Now be quiet while the adults discuss the war." I shot her the dirtiest look I could manage, and she laughed. Although something was off in it, the smile didn't reach her eyes. When the smile faded all that remained was a deep sadness that I couldn't quite understand, I tried to reach out mentally but she wouldn't allow even a sliver of thought. I attributed it to being home again, I made a mental note to talk to her about it later.

A deep booming sound came from within Xavier and it took a minute to realize that he was laughing. He slapped a hand on my back and my knees buckled from the weight.

"I like you two. It's a nice change from the normal bickering mob of depression that wanders through her everyday telling me that we have no real advantage in the war. I'd say we have a great advantage. The imperials are fighting for the coins in their pockets, we're fighting for the ground we walk on and the air we breathe. We're fighting for the freedom to not only survive but to live, under a king and queen we would be happy to serve."

A tired old man at the table stopped scribbling at a piece of parchment and spoke softly. "Is everything a reason to go on a pro-revolutionary tangent to you? We are all quite devoted to the cause, we do not need reminding."

"Everyone could use a taste of revolutionary fervor!" Xavier shouted gleefully as he swung his mace in the air cutting down imaginary imperials.

The old man sighed. "Then please annoy our queen with your revolutionary spirit." He said with a wave of his hand. Suddenly a bell boomed across the city, and everyone at the table shot to attention.

"Wait what's going on, what does that bell mean?" I asked. The bell was ear splitting it took all of my effort not to throw my hands up to try and block out the sound.

The court started hastily grabbing scrolls and loose papers and stuffing them halfheartedly into bags.

"It means we're under attack." The same old man, whom I decided to call the mouthpiece of the court. "The imperial army has been here for weeks, they've been primed to invade, so why only attack now?"

Alice said softly. "Because we're here. They knew we were coming so they laid a trap. I bet that they have blocked off every exit to the city, nobody is leaving here alive." I saw something worrisome in her eyes when she said that, instead of solemn resignation that was subtle anticipation. She was excited for what was coming.

Xavier decided now was the right time to give us a hearty pre-battle speech. "Your majesty I would consider it a compliment that the tyrant deems you worthy of his entire military, even if every hundred of his soldiers isn't' worth one of ours. So I'd suggest you let that demon out one more time and give them what-for. You've got the entirety of the Sperian army behind your back waiting on your command, what say you your majesty?"

"I'd say find someone more qualified to lead your troops. I will fight but I'm no leader." Alice said with a dull nothingness to her voice. I had trouble pinning what she was feeling, it was as if every second her position on the upcoming battle shifter.

To our surprise Xavier laughed. "And that is why I believe that you may be the best Queen Spera has ever had. Now we have a plague at the heart of our city and it is time to root it out, Alice, I want you on the eastern gate. Jack, I want you at the northern gate. I will take the western gate. We must just position more troops at the southern gate, and hope that they succeed. I wish Ashryver were here, I'd feel much safer with him in command. Anyway no use time left debating, we have a city to save." He roared a battle cry and sprinted out the door and took a quick right.

We ran after him and and the door, I took a right and ran around the castle. Alice took a left, and for some reason I felt nervous letting her go off on her own. There was some plan at work that I wasn't let in on.

I sprinted off to the northern gate, my daggers held at either side.

(Alice's POV)

I suppose my opportunity came a little quicker than I expected. As I ran I took in lungfuls of air and savored the taste, this would be the last time I could feel the wind fly through my hair, feel the stone beneath my feet, hear the beating of my heart as I throw myself through the air.

I hardened my face, I refused to miss it. I ran faster. Looking around I saw people preparing for combat. Men and women old enough to fight fastening makeshift armor to themselves, grabbing whatever weapons they could find. Lovers embracing one final time, armed with the knowledge that they may never see each other again, probably won't see each other again. I ran faster still.

I reached the gates, and was gratified to see that the gates were still holding. Behind the tough iron, the imperial army was using a machine to shove the gate from its fittings. It was holding, but it wouldn't last forever. On my side of the gate, those prepared for the fight stood at the ready. Some bent over in prayer, some with faces so pale it was hard to see them against the sunlight, and some that just stared at the gate nothing left in their life to care about. I related to them the most.

The gate buckled and I rocked with it, my nerves linked to the status of the gate. Somewhere I heard the sound of a large amount of metal hitting the ground, somewhere the gate had fallen and the battle had started.

A boy no more than 10 years old stood with a dagger in his hand, that looked like a sword to his small form. Despite his youth, he wore the face of an old man, eyes hardened with tragedies that no child should ever have to witness.

I walked over to him and pressed my hand to his back, he recoiled slightly. "You don't have to do this." I promised him. "We have it covered, go back to the castle, find your mother."

"My mom is dead, so is my sister and dad. They were killed. I have nobody left to lose, I have to fight."

"No really we can handle this." He was too small, he would be slaughtered by even the weakest soldier.

"I have to fight. I want to fight." He swore.

"Please go back." I pleaded.

"No! I have to. I have to." Tears started streaming down his face, and the boy he was shone through. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close, allowing to cry into my chainmail. My chainmail.

I gently released him and removed the mail, now all that stood between me and death was just a tunic and my underclothes. I helped the boy pull the chainmail over his head. It was big on him, but covered his chest, arms, and legs.

"Thank you." He said, eyes still glistening with tears.

"I did you a favor so can you do me one?" I asked.

"Yeah anything, but I won't leave."

"Oh no, I wouldn't ask you to do that. I only want you to watch all of our backs. I want you in the back, keep your eyes on the fight and run for help if it looks like we might need help. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah" His eyes lit up, and he ran to the back of force. The gate gave one final shudder, and it fell to the ground. The imperials swarmed like ants over the wreckage and into the fray. I threw myself forward and was the first blade met. The soldier I locked in combat was obviously untrained. He fought with his entire left side unguarded, I had him dead within seconds. Stepping over his corpse another blade caught mine, and the fight began.

Today I was going to die, but I wasn't going to let my city fall for it. I will die at the end of the fight, after we had the upper hand. I punctured my veil and threw myself forward.

Coming into sharper focus, I noticed that whoever was to my left was faring badly. The soldier above him was continuously swinging down and it wouldn't be long before the rebel's guard broke. I lunged quickly to my side and pierced the man's skull, the rebel nodded his thanks and returned to the fight.

The soldiers were endless, anytime I delivered the killing blow another rose to take their place. I sustained several cuts but was disappointed to see that they weren't life threatening, just annoying.

An arrow flew up from somewhere within the imperials and I raised my hand to guide it to my heart, I tried to forced myself but the arrow refused to budge. It held in it's path until it clanged against the stone wall and fell harmlessly to the ground.

Coward! Coward! I cursed myself silently. The opportunity was prime and I failed, I failed myself, as if that is anything new.

I finished decapitating another nameless set of armor, when a blade caught the edge of my vision. A sword starting flying at my chest and my breath caught. This was it, it would finally happen and I could be free. Just before freedom caught, the man I saved lunged and knocked the tool of my liberation away. I nodded my thanks, silently cursing him.

My arm grew heavy and the magic in my blood ran thin. It was a monumental effort to lift my blade to swipe at the still flowing stream of the imperial legion. The mound of bodies at my feet grew until it stood several meters high, and the imperials had to crawl up and over the bodies of their fallen comrades. I had to give them credit, despite their fear they never slowed or showed apprehension. Most threw themselves to their deaths with flawless grace, a trait I was jealous of.

Finally the swarm yielded, and the number of soldiers decreased drastically. instead of a constant stream, only squads pulled themselves over the mound that nearly rivaled the size of the gate. When they stepped they stepped not on stone, but on flesh and blood. The scene was too gruesome to behold, so I merely focused on my goal and pretended I was a casual observer.

As the last of the men fell, a new form appeared on the hill. A man with strange lumps in his flesh, and a jagged black blade at his side. He threw himself over the hill with ease, and every rebel that came to face him fell too quickly to even attempt to block. He had magic in him it was obvious, and even with heightened senses it was difficult to see his movements. He was a weapon, the sword at his side was merely a tool to sharpen him.

This was my chance, nobody would blame me for falling to this man. He is obviously powerful, and it would be believable that he could dispatch me. I dragged my sword across the ground, its weight too much to bear, and stopped several dozen meters away from the brute, a distance we both could easily cross in a fraction of a second.

I locked eyes with him, and issued a silent challenge. He met my gaze and nodded his acceptance. I extended a hand, and allowed a tongue of flame to dance across it. He did the same. I was correct he had magic in his blood. He extinguished his spell and I imitated him, this would be a battle of metal it would seem.

I lifted the sword one final time, only able to muster the strength with the knowledge that I would never again have to face any challenge. I said a silent prayer that my death would be quick and the souls I had wronged would be kind when I faced them. I held the dark iron blade, gifted to me by Jack, at the ready, and threw myself at my death. He greeted me eagerly.

(Jack's POV)

Something was wrong, something was very wrong. Alice still wasn't letting me through despite my constant efforts. The battle was faring well, and this gate was mostly clear. Overcome with a cold wrenching fear deep within my stomach. I turned to run to Alice.

"Are you capable of holding this gate for a while longer?" I shouted at no one in particular. I heard someone say yes, and threw myself at the eastern gate. Magic fueling my movements every step was worth ten, as the gate loomed closer.

_Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay_. I prayed. I was probably just being paranoid she's probably fine. tried to convince myself that i was just being crazy, but the fear never settled away. I threw my last bit of energy into running, and the gate came into view. I was just in time, to see an overly large man I had never seen before, knock aside Alice's sword and shove his sword through her heart.

******************************************************************************************************** (Alice's POV)

It hurt, it hurt like nothing I had ever felt before. I expected a short blast of pain then I would quickly fall away, but my damn body just held on. The pain was unendurable, every second I begged for relief, but death seemed so far off.

My vision blurred and I could barely see as the brute yanked his long… ah the word escapes me, from my body. My red draped across his sword and all over the ground. It became harder and harder to focus, why did it hurt so much? I looked down and was surprised to see a large gash in my flesh, my tunic painted dark. When did that happen, who did this?

The world fell a bit darker, and my feet no longer wanted to support me. Another blinding flash of pain and stone bit into my cheek. Why was I on the ground? I didn't care it was the most comfortable I had ever been, the pain was melting away. All I wanted to do was sleep, just sleep forever. I closed my eyes and begged the darkness to take me, it obliged.

Author's note- I have nothing to say here aside from wait for the next chapter, and thank you for reading up to this point. Hang on for just a little while longer.


	23. Let Her Be

(Jack's POV)

Before I even had time to blink, I had crossed the wide gap between myself and the bastard and had both of my daggers rammed into his chest. He locked eyes with me, and suddenly as if being awoken for the first time, he snapped into sharp focus. I heard metal fall to the ground, and he gripped the sides of my arms fiercely.

He grunted, blood started to slide from the corner of his mouth. He coughed once and his tainted blood coated my face. I fought back the urge to vomit. He released one of my arms to wipe his mouth, then quickly began speaking.

"Stop him!" He coughed into the air then flinched. His flesh began to ripple and even out. The lumps in his flesh dissipated and his skin moved like water to his arms. I glanced down in fear to see his arms shake me violently before I felt intense heat under his fingers. I tried to throw him off but some unseen force held us pressed together. I remembered the daggers I had pressed into his chest and tried to force those in further but couldn't move. The burning in my hands spread out over my arms and into my entire being. The moment it touched my heart the heat stopped, replaced by a feeling of power fighting to release itself.

"Save her… End me." He pleaded and finally able to move, I jerked the daggers up. Blood squirted over my arms, and his face contorted in pain. Then relief. His form sagged in my arms then fell to the ground, peace finally with him.

I turned to face Alice and felt hopelessness grip me. She was lying on her back with a large wound piercing her heart. Blood pooled out from her back and joined the ocean of demise crafted so slowly throughout the course of the battle. Her skin was already pale, and she made no move. No shudder or feeble attempt. She was dead...but she couldn't be. No no no, she can't be dead. No! I would've felt it, I would've been able to stop it.

I did feel it...No! I threw myself over her limp corpse and placed my hands directly over her wound. There was no way to get her heart started using mundane means, but maybe magic could save her. Magic will save her, it has to.

A hand fell to rest on my shoulder. "She's dead son, let her be." A male voice said, stricken with grief. I shook his grip and returned to my work. It was going to work.

I called upon fire and a thin string extended from each of my fingers into my palm. I did not release it. I called upon earth and mud fell from my fingers onto her body, but I held a large clump of it suspended. The two started to twist and dance, spinning around each other somehow already aware of what I hoped would happen. I did the same with water, and it joined the sacred dance. The three elements started to swell and contract, a white mist forming where they touch. Lastly I allowed a shock of electricity to join the three. It had only just touched when a bright flash of light blinded everyone nearby momentarily. I blinked violently, she had no time to lose.

It worked, in my hand was the same white matter that I had seen in Alice's dream. Pure magic. I cupped my hands and it slid into them like a liquid, but still wished to remain free-form. Magic need not conform itself to the rules of our world. I held the power over Alice's heart and begged to every god that would listen for her to survive. I threw my hands to the side and let the magic fall. It hung suspended in the air for a moment, but then decided to start its descent. It was excruciatingly slow, I held my hands in fists until blood started to slide from my palm and I had to relinquish my grip.

The magic finally touched her, and it was sucked in. Her wound glowed with a blinding light, and I was forced to avert my eyes. When I looked back, the wound was healed. A large bloodstain still remained, and the pool of blood around her was still a terrifying size, but the wound was gone.

"It's up to her now. If she wants to live that is." The same voice from earlier said.

I turned to him, it was some soldier that I had never seen before. He looked far too old to be in any army, but judging from the kid I passed, the rebels had no age restrictions. "What the hell do you mean, if she wants to live? Of course she wants to live why the hell wouldn't she?"

"I saw her in battle, at first I just thought that she couldn't handle the killing or the proximity to death, but she was handling herself better than any veteran I have ever seen. She kept throwing herself in front of blades and cutting down the owners, at first I thought that she was trying to save her fellow soldiers, but as time wore on, it was obvious that she had another goal in mind."

"You'd better learn to bite your tongue before I rip it out. You don't have the right to speak her name let alone talk about her like that." I got up and moved closer, my finger only inches away from his battle-weary eyes. "She is your queen and you will show her all the respect she deserves."

I stopped myself before I said anything further. It was obvious, she thought that as queen it was her duty to sacrifice herself before she hurt her people any further. She did try to kill herself, and she succeeded. No she did not succeed, I will yank her from the void if I have to.

I fell to her side and gripped her shoulder. "Alice do you hear me? You fight this now, or gods-help-me I will kill myself just so I can kick your ass in the void."

Alice I know you can hear me, pull through. Your people need you. I need you. Come back. I thought as hard as I can, but to no avail. Alice was dead.

Author's note- Very short chapter I know but my writing software is acting up on me. The grand conclusion to all of this mess will be in the next chapter, when hopefully I'll be able to write a paragraph without getting yelled at to fix my formatting.


	24. If this is hell, I'm dissapointed

(Alice's POV)

I was falling, falling. The pain in my chest disintegrated and I was left empty, in complete darkness, alone. I opened my eyes and nothing less than oblivion greeted me. Darkness and silence extended in all directions. I looked down hoping to see some open pit of fire that I was hurtling towards, but just empty darkness.

If this is hell I'm disappointed. I joked to alleviate the pressure of silence building around me. I expected giant pillars of stone and some fiery god punishing me for all of eternity. It's nothing less than I deserve so where is he. If my punishment is falling forever then I feel robbed, where's the creativity?

A voice that wasn't my own shot through the void. A voice I only ever heard in my head but now reverberated through my entire being. Alice I know you can hear me, pull through. Your people need you. I need you. Come back. A blood soaked hand pushed through the darkness as if it were nothing less than water and gripped mine. I yanked against it, but it refused to budge.

Let go! I shouted begging to be left to my own demise, but the hand wouldn't budge. I gave one final tug and the hand slipped slightly. Grimly satisfied I proceeded to push and pull until finally the hand released me, and Jack could just let me die.

The hand retracted from the void and I was greeted again by the infinity of nothing. I finally understood how silence could be deafening. Fate resolved itself to me and I continued to fall. or fly or whatever was going on here.

Jack's voice still nagged at the corner of my consciousness. Your people need you, I need you. I replayed those words in my mind, each time Jack's voice sounded a little less like his own. I was losing him.

I pictured him hanging over my corpse, the weight of my death pulling him down too. The grief on his face would be unbearable. He would be inconsolable for days, never eating or sleeping just living in his own pain.

I choked back a sob and the sudden noise broke the silence. No, no his pain was good this is what you were trying to accomplish. I thought to myself He'll go and kill off Emperor Ternac. The world will be free and be better without you in it.

My vision blurred and a tear broke and fell across my face. Despite whatever direction I was falling the tear fell like it would if I were standing up. My head fell forward and my hand shot out to steady myself. I caught something cool and hard and used that as I sobbed loudly in my emptiness.

I used my tunic to wipe the snot off of my face, then went ahead and wiped the tears from my eye. I sat down on something cold and hard and just stared at a darkness that seemed much brighter than it had a moment ago.

I opened my eyes and blinding light attacked me. No I wasn't alive again, I panicked. I wasn't, the light I saw was candlelight bouncing off of thousands of crystals compressed to form a giant room. To my left was a crystalline pillar that I had braced myself on. When did I get here? Was my punishment finally ready? The god of the underworld probably needed more time to find something cruel enough for the Witch of the Eastern Kingdom.

I stepped to my feet and walked out to meet whatever I deserved. A fat old man with black hair sat casually upon a golden throne. At his feet was his much younger much thinner mirror image. The boy raised a familiar looking sword and held it aimed at the fat old man's throat.

It took a second to register, but when I did, my heart fell from my chest. Jack ran to strike down his father, but faster than any old man ought to be a blade of similar dark iron caught Jack's in the air. Jack's sword went high and the opening was clear. I moved to run and save him but my feet were ground in place, this is my punishment I am only an observer at events to come.

The Emperor didn't take the opening, but instead caught Jack's sword at the hilt and threw it across the room. Jack looked shocked at the sudden turn of events, but quickly formed fire in his left hand and lightning in his right. He leaped backwards and threw them both at the throne. It exploded sending sharp clumps of gold everywhere, smoke filled the chamber and Jack relaxed.

A shadow crossed the smoke and emerged unharmed from the darkness. Jack tensed but couldn't move. He jerked against some unseen force, but remained planted in place. His rose up to his toes and hung suspended. The emperor walked over to his son and rested a hand on his cheek.

"I only ever wanted to keep my people safe. Magicians have too much power, it would be so easy for them to overwhelm everyone. I rose to power and started hunting those with power before they could be corrupted. The ancients already looked down on the humans as slaves, and only took those will magical blood to be taught the nature of the world. Is that fair? I asked you a question boy! Is that fair?"

"No." He spat.

"No What?"

"No sir."

Jack struggled at his binding but remained suspended. The emperor resumed his story. " I saw how those without magic were treated. They were animals, slaves to be used for all the hard labor. If a family was born with the gift of supreme power they were sent to be trained, and those born without it had to do everything for those that did. My older brother had to serve me like a dog because I had a little affinity for water. Can you see how our world now is better than that world?"

Jack seemed unwittingly interested. "Yes, but how does killing them make you any better than the ancients?"

"Magic is a curse, it claws at you and tells you that you are more powerful than everyone else so why shouldn't you be treated better than everyone else. Only I have been able to withstand the lulls of magical power because I have suffered among those that didn't. I look now to the revolution you began and I only see the ignorance of someone who has only known the world I created. Your revolution was only going to restore us to the dark times I fought so hard to get away from. You have convinced me of two things. The first is that I am going to instruct the kingdoms on the horrors of the world I pulled them from, and the second is that I want you to serve under me."

"You'll have to kill me." Jack responded, but there was no determination in his voice. It fell soft.

"The people trust you Jack, you led them here. If you tell them that the revolution was a success and that I bowed to your demands, then they will believe you. By my side you can decide which magicians live, and which ones are obviously too corrupt to be returned to the natural world. You can save a lot of lives... Jonathan."

Jack bowed his head, I hoped that he was just preparing to strike at the Emperor but when he raised his head, a smile was on his face.

"After I lost Alice, I wondered if the revolution was truly worth it. All I did was kill people who didn't want to fight me. If I can truly make the world better, than I am proud to call you my father and Emperor. By my name Jonathan Ternac, I swear to serve you until the day I die!"

The Emperor released Jack and he fell to the floor, Jack stood up straight, an open line of attack present, and he bowed. He was lost.

The world blurred and I could finally move again. The ground underneath my dissipated and infinite darkness greeted me again. I tried to tell myself that what I saw could never happen, but couldn't. Would my death fuel or extinguish his fire? I pictured that he would go into a rampage and tear the Emperor's castle down with his bare hands, but what if he just couldn't take the senseless death anymore. I closed my eyes, and felt new ground hit my feet.

I was in a familiar town square, the center of Spera. Crowds gather around me to see some attraction in the center, every face I saw looked stricken with grief. I pushed past my people until the crowd parted and I could see what was so interesting. A dozen hanging ropes were fitted to a grand stage. The victims: Nobles of Spera. The executioner: Jonathan.

Ten were dead and hanging, but two remained to be executed. The first was a bear of a man with a specially thick rope tied around his neck. Captain Xavier looked down at disgust at Jack, Jack met his gaze with rivalling fury.

"You are charged with conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor, and successfully assassinating Aliendra ex-queen of Spera. How do you plead?" His anger shook every word he spoke. What changed him was obvious. With no emperor to blame, his unending search for vengeance led him to the people that sent me to my death. It made sense until I stopped to consider… no he couldn't have. He did. A special noose directly beside Xavier's held the only other person I couldn't stand to see hanged: Mom.

Alena stood on her stool, the rope fighting to claim her before she was even sentenced. She started down with incomprehensible greif. Everything she ever stood for was gone, but she still fought on. Were it I. I would have just kicked the stool out of the way and died already, but Alena waited her turn. She wanted her people to know that she didn't give up even when it was surely her turn to go. So she hardened her face and turned to stare at Jack, she didn't blink once.

"I plead guilty ya' rudding coward, but I didn't kill Alice, she done killed herself off. I would'a too if I had ta share a mind with your sick twisted fantasies."

"Then by the laws of the Empire I pronounce you guilty. Any last words?" Jack asked, excitement building on his face.

"I may die today, but Spera will rise again greater than ever. I only wish that I could see the day when your head gets well and truly shoved on a stick."

Jack stepped forward to kick the stool out from under him, but Xavier shouted out. "I'll do it myself you ruddy bastard. If I have to go out I'm doing it on my terms." Xavier kicked his legs forward, and then when they fell back they knocked the stool out from under him. He fell slightly and the rope caught him. He made a terrible sound as the rope squeeze the life out of him, but he didn't reach out once. He just hung suspended until the noise fell off, and he was still.

"And now the main attraction. Queen Alena, you created the rebel group known as the band of Spera, and sent Alice into battle untrained. You killed her with that. killed the only woman I ever loved and I cannot forgive you for that." Where anger had been on his face, guilt soon replaced it. He hated himself for not being there, and blaming others was the only way to alleviate it. "How do you plead?"

Alena looked out at her people, and said "Guilty of all charges."

"Then by the laws of the Empire I sentence you to death. Any last words?"

"I'm sorry," She looked down and stared at me as if she could see me. "I've failed you." Jack kicked her stool and her scream as she fell sent shivers through my entire being. The woman who held me when I was afraid, murdered by the boy who understood me better than anyone else.

The world blurred again, and I fell into the void. I wanted to make a joke to myself to make this more bearable but I just couldn't. Nothing in the scene I just witnessed would be improbable. If Jack was bent to serve Ternac that's exactly what he would do. That's what he could be doing right now, and I could've have him. I could've saved them all.

A final torture session materialized in front of my eyes. The same square as before, but some time had obviously passed. The gallows had been replaced by a massive hole that took up a majority of the square. A line of citizens stretched around the hole, each move being ordered by soldiers. At the head of the soldiers and the front of the line, was a very haggard looking Jack. He appeared no older, but stress had claimed his forehead, and his clothes clung to his skin. He hadn't been eating. He raised his hand and called for the line to move. As one the citizens of Spera took a step forward so the head of the line could get run through by Jack, and tossed in the hole. He raised a bloody hand again and called for the line to move. I threw my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. He was executing innocents now? Another body, that of an old woman, found its way into the pit. I looked up at the sky, and crimson surrounded me. There would be no light today.

A boy wearing chainmail far too large for him waved in my direction. I turned and looked behind me at whoever he was waving at, but there was nobody even close. I looked back and his eyes were firmly on me, he narrowed his gaze and waved again. I pointed to myself and he nodded. I walked over to him, wondering how he was able to see me. I reached him and he just looked at me with disappointment in his eyes.

"You could've saved them you know. Your people, your mom, Jack, they all relied on you to lead and protect them." He was only a boy, but spoke like a man.

"I just didn't want to hurt anyone else." I pleaded, trying to display the case that all made sense so long ago.

He snorted. "Yeah, with you gone nobody is getting hurt. Everyone just decided to hold hands and share and love each other. Grow up Aliendra."

"My name is not-" I started.

"Yes it is. The longer you run from your past, the more your people suffer. They depend on you and you keep letting them down, now more than ever. You're powerful and strong but you keep telling yourself that you don't deserve power and that you aren't strong enough to wield it. The fact that you were strong enough to relinquish power is enough of a sign that you are ready. It is time for you to lead your people, and save them from this." He gestured over to Jack as he cut down another civilian.

"I'm dead, I can't help you." I said.

"You can do more than you ever thought you could. Jack saved you, you have a duty to go back. If it's any help, your chainmail helped me to survive. A stray arrow would have killed me in the battle, but I survived. Now go save the rest." The world blurred and I was falling once more through the void. A blood soaked hand reached through the veil and instead of gripping me, it merely opened a palm. I reached out and grabbed it. It gave a ferocious pull and jerked me with it. We fell through the veil, and pain greeted me.

A dull ache in my chest, and mild stinging across my head and arms. Wet cobblestone poked into my back, and several hands were gripping me. I didn't have a tunic on.

"See the wound is gone, why won't she just come back?" A familiar male voice shouted.

"She has lost too much blood, it may be time that we just add her to the long list of fallen in this battle. She did her duty, let her rest."

Aliendra the Queen of Spera, opened her eyes.

Author's note- In this chapter I tried messing around with changing scenes quickly, I hope it was comprehensible. Thank you for reading, and have a happy holidays. (If you are reading this days/ weeks/ months after it was posted, then have a happy tuesday.


	25. A Test

Author's quick note- In the interest of preserving the nature of this story as a means of experimentation and development as an author, the following chapter will be written in the style of third person. The change will allow for some diversity in naming the actions of characters and will also allow for simplicity in other regards as well. If this chapter fails to achieve either of those goals, I will be reverting back to the same style as before, content with the knowledge that I will have to experiment more. But I have spoken enough on the matter, thus I present the third-person chapter of Assassins and Witchcraft.

Aliendra opened her eyes, and blinding light assaulted her. She blinked quickly, and placed an arm under her to rise into a sitting position. Jack was the first to notice her newfound vitality, and threw himself over to her. The rest of the observers that had no dead of their own to look after, gathered around. Jack, deep lines of concern etched into his prematurely aged face, pressed his hands into Aliendra's shoulders, and attempted to guide her back down.

"No, you need to rest. You scared the hell out of us." He whispered as the first tears began to fall.

Don't you ever do that to me again. He thought, I'm so glad you're back.

Aliendra rose again and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, but broke quickly and stood to greet her people. The citizens of Spera were lost, all found in some sorrow or another. Despite the victory there were still losses, and few cared about anything but. Jack rested on his knees content to see his twin of mind returned.

"People of Spera." The queen spoke. She did raise her voice into anything above normal conversation, but all around her grew silent. None were aware, but they had been waiting for this moment for nine years. Aliendra looked down for a moment and swayed on her feet, with the entirety of Spera looking upon her. She took a steadying breath, and addressed her people. "People of Spera. Today is the best day we have had in nearly a decade, but it is also the worst. Your family members lie dead around you, as I had merely moments ago. They sacrificed themselves for a future I never believed that we could have, but now I see how we truly have no choice. Our good leader Emperor Ternac burned our libraries and pillaged our cities. He walked calmly into our castle and murdered our royal family. Then he asked for what? Our loyalty? That we die for him against kingdoms that never had a choice?

"Today we did something that the other kingdoms did not have to, we fought the full might of the Imperial Legion and defeated them. You, my brothers and sisters have stood against trained soldiers and emerged victorious. This is no longer a rebellion, Spera is free and the blood spilled to earn that right will never be forgotten. Tonight, bury your loved ones and mourn their loss. Tomorrow we will march to Vellhaven and break down Ternac's door." Aliendra stood watching her people, as their cries of mourning morphed and grew into cries of triumph.

I don't understand Jack thought to Aliendra What happened?

I saw how much I need to be who I am. These people need a queen, and we need eachother. Aliendra responded.

Then let them know that their queen has returned.

"I must admit, that I have not been entirely honest with all of you. I left spera when I was a young girl, and have been doing everything since to forget it. I adopted the name Alice because it meant that I no longer had to account for what I failed to save. My name before, and my name now, is Aliendra. I once was the princess of Spera, and if you'll have me, I wish to be your queen."

Sudden deafening silence. Then a single cheer erupted from the crowd, and a little boy with chainmail far too large for him rushed forward and threw his arms around his queen's waist. She placed a gentle hand on his head, and the rest of Spera roared. Captain Xavier surfaced from the crowd and found his place at his Queen's side.

"I believe that is a yes, your majesty." Xavier laughed. "We must return to the citadel and tell the others of our glorious victory against the imperial dogs. I believe it should be you that makes the announcement." Xavier bowed low, and then placed a guiding hand on her shoulder and started moving her to the castle. People were still cheering when the grand doors shut them inside.

The children and those unable to fight were notified of the victory, and allowed outside to revel with the soldiers, and the court of Spera met around the table occasionally casting sad glances at the empty chairs. Once everyone was settled, Xavier rose and spoke with pure mirth in his voice.

"Aliendra has decided to become our queen." This declaration was met with mixed responses. An elderly woman jumped up from her chair and ran over to Aliendra shouting "I knew she would." An entire section of the table was loudly listing off reasons why she was unqualified and should not become queen until she was trained. Xavier just stood with a shocked expression at how badly everything was going. Aliendra rose with a calm face, as if this was all expected.

"Everyone, we will not reach any sort of agreeable conclusion if we continue to shout over each other. First, I suggest those who are against me becoming Queen explain why."

A balding man rose to address the table. "Are we to put the faith of an entire nation in the hands of a girl who only now just 'decided' that now was a good time to lead her people? Where was she when the ivy was burning and people were being executed?"

An older woman rose to address him "She was nine Vhar, could you carry the weight of a country when you were just half a man? She managed to keep herself alive on her own, I believe that shows resourcefulness and determination."

Vhar responded. "Determination? She decided to become queen half an hour ago. Who's to say that tomorrow she won't run gallivanting off calling herself Betty? I also must point out the lack of experience. She has lived the life of an outlaw, not a monarch. And the company she keeps is frightening indeed."

Xavier threw his hands on the table and the sound made everyone leap a little into the air. "That outlaw is the flesh and blood of the royal family! You best watch your tongue in her company before I decide that you would do better without it! Your majesty, shall I remove this coward and fool?"

Aliendra looked shocked at the question. "Of course not Captain, and I asked for dissent. I will never cut a man down because of his beliefs. Anything else?"

Vhar didn't even pause for a moment. "Yes, I also receive reports that you nearly died in battle today? And that your death was your own doing?" Aliendra touched her chest where her wound once was. "How can we trust a nation to someone who wishes their own death? She will run Spera into the ground in a week."

Captain Xavier growled, but didn't move to grab his weapon. Although her never looked away from Vhar.

The youngest man at the table, a dark skinned man with hair just beginning to show patches of grey, rose to Vhar's comment. "Yes dear about that, are you alright?"

"I am fine." Aliendra responded. "Better than fine, nearly dying was the best thing to ever happen to me. I see now what my responsibilities are, and what I must do to save Spera."

"Save Spera? She can't even save her boyfriend." A mocking tone sounded from the other side of the hall. A man in a green combat suit, with far too many chains and hooiks, leaned against a pillar near the entrance. Even from the table the signature mark on his clothes was evident. A snake with teeth emphasized, and poison dripping from each fang. The insignia was lost upon everyone at the table, except for Aliendra.

In a borrowed memory, he looked very familiar. A mentor, harsh and cruel, that taught the ways of death and shadow. A teacher that punished the students for failure, and took a specific interest in a certain Jonathan Ternac, freshly plucked from the streets of some border city, and ready to be turned into the most powerful weapon ever seen.

The table carried shock and confusion, while Aliendra paled and strode over to reach the notoriously invisible assassin.

"The Serpent." She identified him. He laughed a cold heartless tone and retrieved a dagger from within his tunic and started sharpening his nails.

"I see lover boy has been telling you stories. Did he tell you about when I sent him to pick off a dignitary in the southern kingdom when his dad was around. You know about the whole Emperor Jack situation? Good. Well I sent him down and he had to hide in a cupboard for two days before he was finally free to take out his targets. Oh that is a good story, but you have to hear him tell it, far more dramatic."

Aliendra took a steady breath and asked with a Queens command "Tell me what you mean, of Jonathan being unsafe."

"Ah yes, that is a good story too. A real crowd pleaser… nowhere really. People are for some reason really fond of the little brat, despite the fact that he has no personality. He's a bit clever and he knows how to hold a dagger but that's about it. He's always so boring. Well I wanted to talk to you, but I never go anywhere without all of the cards in my hand, so I had him picked up after the battle with a little bit of paralysis poison. I wanted to extend an invitation your majesty, to join me in my chambers for a cup of tea, while your boyfriend rots in a safehouse that only I know the location of. We will have a civil conversation where I fill you in on the more minor details of my involvement that past few years. Don't worry nothing painful will happen to your dear Jack whilst he is in my care, unless he makes me mad. And I've heard the reports of what you did in your cell with Ternac, and I am glad that I picked up him rather than you. Gods talk about a handful.

"Anyway we can leave right now. But first do you need a drink or snack for the road? Does our queen need to relieve herself or take a quick nap? You died earlier it's okay to take a rest, I'll wait. "

Aliendra hardened her appearance and returned to the table. "Mobilize our armies and start the movements to Vellhaven I will rejoin as soon as I can, and we can continue this debate." She turned to face The Serpent. "I am ready, let us go."

Author's note- We have a new bundle of Joy, crying, and dirty diapers in the house. My sister gave birth a few days ago and we are still trying to recover for that, so I apologize if updates have been a little slow. Let me know how the third person test turned out. It made it a little easier on me, but if you found it difficult to follow please tell me, so that I may practice more in private. Anyway the story is rapidly drawing to a close, the final battle with Ternac looms closer, and Aliendra is in no way powerful enough to face him.


	26. Fork In The Road

(Third Person)

The Serpent led Aliendra outside of the city and into a covered carriage. Several faceless servants in green cloaks opened the door to allow their master in. Aliendra bowed to each in turn, the Serpent paid them no mind. The Serpent took his place, and Aliendra found her position directly opposite of him.

Once inside, the fear began to settle in Aliendra's heart. She extended her mind to assure Jack of her soon arrival, but met only silence. A wave of nausea gripped her and she was forced to hang onto the dark green velvet seats, lest she lose control in front of this beast. The dull sound of horses beating on stones sounded outside, and the cabin jerked to a start.

Completely calm, the Serpent lit a pipe and blew smoke out of the window. He shot a look at Aliendra's white knuckles, and sighed. The snake ran a finger along the soft lining of the bench, and took another drag on his pipe.

"Calm down girl, I haven't hurt him yet. He'll be safely returned to you as soon as we have our discussion. Whatever you decide, he will be let free."

Aliendra reeled in sudden anger. "Then speak, let us finish these discussions quickly. Any moment he spends in your company is an eternity in hell." She didn't know where the words came from, but they sounded like something a queen would say.

The Serpent just rolled his head to look at her, before blowing another stream of smoke out of the window.

"As you wish. As you are aware, this nation is currently gripped by the most violent revolution the five kingdoms have ever seen. Part of it is our dear ignorant king instilling such hatred in his followers, but most of it had been orchestrated by me. The advantages my young queen of having an assassination guild behind your back are limitless. Your puny revolution would have died within a week had I not been steadily picking off the only competent people within the Emperor's castle. He is aware of course, we are no more than children to him. Ternac will not greet us until we are at his gate. Then gods help us all."

Aliendra stopped for a moment to consider the wisdom in the next step. A choice she has never had to make. "I appreciate your assistance… I must ask however, why are you telling me this?"

The Serpent leaned backwards and curled his hands together, obviously striving to word his statement in a way that Aliendra would find acceptable. "Despite his apparent disinterest, working underneath Ternac has been… difficult to say the least. I have organized this meeting in the hopes to work out a deal your majesty. I will continue fueling the flames of your revolution, and you will be on Ternac's throne in a week, and in exchange you allow the Assassin's guild to operate in your new empire."

The Serpent's plan in full view, Aliendra was at a crossroads. She thought of Jack, and what he might say were he here to assist her. Aliendra thought of what he might say to the Serpents offer.

**This is a fork in the road. It is time to decide what kind of queen you will be Aliendra. Will you make deals with the devil to assure your own victory? Or will you stand strong despite the odds? **

Aliendra looked down at her tunic, still covered in the blood of war. Could she allow this to continue? Thousands had died, if she accepted his terms, not nearly that many would pass. And the ones that did had done something to deserve their demise. Was it truly worth more death and destruction to cling to a false hope of morality?

Aliendra made her decision, and hardened her features. "Serpent, in my kingdom your criminal actions will not be for profit. You may peacefully disband, and no charges will be brought up against you. Although now that the matter is settled, where might I be able to find Jack?" Her final question had a kind facade, but beneath it fire raged ready to be unleashed were her demands not met.

"You foolish woman." The Serpent hissed. "Your armies will disband in a day, and your generals will cut each other's throats. When you feel the gentle embrace of rope caressing your neck, or a dagger nipping at your throat, remember that you only have yourself to blame."

"I asked you a question, and you mustn't forget your promise. Whatever I may decide Jack should walk free."

"Yes of course, you will find your lover in the catacombs under the Eastern part of spera. You saved him this time, but can you be certain that you will save him again?" The serpent smiled, deep hatred set into his icy stare.

"Is that a threat, cutthroat?" Aliendra snapped back.

"Nooo, of course not your majesty." The Serpent mocked. "I only mean to warn you that your troops are getting restless. They need a leader, feel free to call for me should you happen to find one. Now if you don't mind your majesty, I would be very appreciative should you find your way out of my compartment. The air is suddenly very hot."

The carriage slowed, and Aliendra stepped out, to see that she was several miles from the city. She stood proud of what she did, although she couldn't help but wonder if she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.

Author's note- I apologize for the short chapter, time is once again a commodity that I find myself in short supply of. Recently I have come across a book titled Creating Unforgettable Characters by Linda Seger, and several of the tips I have read thus far I plan on implementing into the story. This chapter was the first step, making a queen sound more like a queen. I am beginning to see potential in all of my characters, but I still do not possess the skill I need to tap into it. Thank you for tagging along with me on this road to improvement, I hope that you still are enjoying the story. Lastly I noticed that a larger portion than usual of this story is just me the author addressing you, the audience. I can assure you that it will never happen to this magnitude again.


	27. Even To Save Myself

(3rd Person)

The catacombs were a stretch of tunnels that made a grid pattern underneath the city. They were cold wet and dark, but for the most part safe. Aliendra used the ladder underneath the guard tower in the eastern section of the city, allowing her old memories to guide her hands and feet. Jack was easily located, the assassins put little effort into finding a resting location for him. Aliendra sprinted over to his prone form, immediately regretting her decision to go alone. If he was dying there would be nothing she could do. She placed a hand on his brow, and a deathly cold greeted her. His blood sat still, and his skin paled in response.

The Serpent promised that she had already saved him, and he wouldn't kill him. Would he? No he wanted to strike a deal, he wouldn't kill him. Despite her reassuring thoughts, Jack's stillness was a blight upon her reasoning. A shiver shot through her spine, and a fist gripped her heart.

Suddenly Jack's limp form went completely erect. His eyes flashed open and his cheeks flooded with color. He bit at air as if he could never satisfy his desire, and after a moment slumped onto the mossy floor. Aliendra breathed a sigh of relief then pressed a cold hand to his forehead. The previously icy skin now replaced with a living warmth.

Jack focused on the curved stone ceiling, then tilted his head to look at Aliendra. As soon as her image fell into focus he jerked his head backwards to stare at back at the stone.

"GodsDammit!" He shouted, anger beginning to arrive on his face.

Aliendra recoiled, confusion polluting her relief. _What's wrong? _She thought to him.

"You, me, this, everything! When you were in prison I just gave up on you and left. I've always been carried by you! You have been the good one, and I have been the weak coward." Jack's face flooded red and a tear slid down his cheek.

_You saved me earlier, I wouldn't have survived if you didn't heal me. _

"Heard about that did you? My one shining moment, but it wasn't me that saved you. You saved yourself, I was just there."

Aliendra stopped at that, and wondered at what to say next.

"Thinking about times that I helped you? Well it won't take long because it's a really short list. You've been Alice, Aliendra the hero of the people that can survive on her own and still stick it to the emperor. I've been Jack, I've lived in luxury all of my life, and when I left the castle I ran to the first place with a working bath."

"You taught me so much about magic. And if it weren't for you I'd probably be torturing some imperial commander right now. Instead we are on the front lines leading an army against your father."

"Look I'd rather not talk about this any more. Let's just find a room to stay in where I can pretend like I wasn't just jumped by some novice assassins, and injected with a badly prepared draught of the living death."

Aliendra looked at him with sympathy in her eyes, and then extended a hand to help him up.

"I can do it myself." Jack snapped batting her hand away. "And cut the pity, I don't need it."

Jack limped over to a corner and pulled himself up a ladder, leaving Aliendra behind him to watch her twin of mind walk away.

"You are playing a deadly game Tellerson, give me a single reason why I should not have cut you down where you stand." The Emperor demanded, looking upon a scrawny man no more than thirty, with a face like a fox, and a sly smile on his face.

"Because your excellency, it is possible that I may have hidden your little secret in locations throughout the city, and were one of those to fall into the hands of the public…"

The Emperor slammed his fist onto his golden throne, leaving a dent in the delicate metal. He extended a palm to him and seemed to think about disintegrating him on the spot, but thought better of it and replaced his fist on the throne.

"How did you learn of my condition?" The Emperor asked, still pondering whether to murder the man in front of him.

Councilman Tellerson extended a hand to the Emperor and a small drop of water formed in his grasp. Ternac's eyes bugged out of his head, and icy fury gripped his features.

"You have got quite the nerve doing that in my presence child. It seems that you are begging for an executioner's tools to find your throat."

"My apologies your excellency." Tellerson said with a gleam in his eye. "I only wished to show you that I am in the same fortunate position."

"Magic is no gift fool." The Emperor snapped. "I would have it eradicated from this land before I allow a single drop of untainted blood spilled."

"Then why have you tried so hard to obtain such power? Your words contradict your actions. I would have believed you be desperate for power." Tellerson spoke, allowing the rhythms of royalty to fall into his speech.

"I achieved such power only to prevent others from abusing it. If you have lived the years I have, and seen the hatred those with magic have against those who have not, you would agree with me. How did you manage to elude my executions for so long?"

"I had no power, so I had nothing to fear. My useless father had a witchcraft of his own and used it to intimidate my mom, to prevent her from turning him in. In a fit of rage he slew my mother, and I cut his throat when he slept. I drank the blood from his neck and when I awoke I had a portion of his magic inside of me."

"You drank his blood for pleasure? You are a sick man tellerson. I only drank the blood of my enemies to assure that I would never fail to defeat a threat to the nation. Why do you come today, I assume that you have some reason for placing yourself at my mercy?"

"Ah yes, What I ask for is very simple, I only wish for a pint of your blood. And in exchange your secret dies with me."

The Emperor took in the councilman and weighed his options. The fox before him looked up at the emperor with lights in his eyes, assured that he had won. The Emperor disagreed.

He rose from his throne and with a swift motion, impossibly fast, a bolt of lightning rushed from his palm and struck the Tellerson in the chest. Tellerson was thrown across the room and slammed into the large oak doors. A painful snapping sound bounced through the chamber, and Tellerson slid to the floor, his head slumped down. The Emperor strode over to him and lifted Tellerson's head to look upon him. Tellerson's eyes were barely open as he fought to remain conscious.

"You are the epitome of everything I have sword to obliterate from this world. I would never allow a power hungry fool to walk the world, even to save myself. Goodbye Tellerson." The Emperor pressed his open hand into Tellerson's head and closed his eyes. Tellerson's silent pleas went unheard, as with one final blast of light, only the Emperor remained.

Author's Note- Thank you for reading.


End file.
